Transformed
by Quryuu
Summary: Basically the first and second movie with Sam as Samantha Gender swap . Added some extra parts as well.
1. Chapter 1

Sam is Samantha. Starts out she is 17, first part of her Junior year when she gets Bumblebee. Mikaela Banes is her friend. They have been friends for some time, though run in different social circles.

William Lennox is not married in this story.

Will go through first and second movie and a little beyond.

Please note I DO NOT OWN Transformers are any other media

Samantha Witwicky sighed tiredly as she finished the final paragraph of her genealogy report. Why Mr. Hosney chose to make them complete such a detailed project this early in the school year she would never know, but as a Witwicky she refused to back down from a challenge. Then again as reports go this one was pretty basic. Choose a relative, research and write up a fifteen to twenty page paper on them and their accomplishments which would need to be posted to the class website and prepare a presentation for the class.

Much to her parents chagrin she had chosen her great-great grandfather Captain Archibald Witwicky, probably the most fascinating member of their clan. Sure he apparently went insane and ended up in an asylum, but before that he had done what many people in his time period couldn't even contemplate. He explored the Arctic Circle.

So using that as a focal point for her paper she dug through the attic, pulled out his old maps and a diary along with his personal glasses, though why he kept a pair of broken glasses she would never know. Regardless they added a certain historical affect to her paper and the presentation she planned. Sam had no doubt that she would earn an A on this project which is exactly what she needed to uphold her deal with her dad.

Ron Witwicky had set forth a fairly reasonable deal. If she got A's on 3 major projects and/or tests and earned $2000 on her own he would put forth the other $2000 to buy her a car. Granted $4000 wasn't a lot for a car, but it would get her a decent used vehicle and she had no doubt she could get her friend Mikaela to help her fix it up if needed.

To date she had earned a little over $2000 from baby-sitting and other odd jobs she had performed around the neighborhood. Seriously, who knew that lawn work could prove so lucrative? The grades were a bit harder as the school year was only in the first nine weeks. Most teachers didn't have them do projects or tests until the second quarter at least. Thankfully, or not depending on how one looked at it, this year the teachers decided to jump right in. She had already had a major test in science, which she aced, and a large project for her English class, which again she aced. Now she just needed to score high on this project and she would be driving her very own set of wheels in no time.

Proofreading the paper one last time, and checking that all of the photos uploaded properly she connected to the school web site and downloaded her project to Mr. Hosney's class site. Then she printed a copy for herself and placed it with the items she planned to take into class with her for her presentation. Checking the bedside clock she sighed. Sam had worked through the entire afternoon again thus missing out on the joys of the 'weekend'.

Chuckling to herself she muttered the old Witwicky motto. "No sacrifice. No victory."


	2. Chapter 2

"SAMMY! You're gonna be late if you don't get moving!" Judy Witwicky's voice echoed up the stairs causing Sam to move a bit faster.

"I'm coming!" Moving around she stuffed what she needed in her backpack, cursing the fact that her alarm chose to not work that morning. Hopping around as she tried to put her shoes on and barely missed stepping on Mojo as the small Chihuahua sat watching her. Huffing in annoyance she grabbed her bag and stumbled into the hall and down the stairs. In the kitchen she found her parents in their usual routine with her mother cooking breakfast watching the small TV and her father reading the paper.

"This is just awful." Judy commented as she continued to watch the news. "Did you hear this Ron? Those poor soldiers."

Sam paused to listen catching the last few words from Defense Secretary Keller. "We are dealing with a highly effective weapons system, one we have not come across before. But our thoughts and prayers are with those men who…"

"Judy you shouldn't watch stuff like that you know how it upsets you." Ron interrupted the broadcast breaking Sam's attention.

"Of course it upsets me! This is important! What if we have another terrorist attack coming? What will you do then huh mister?"

Deciding to cut in before her parents could get into another one of their infamous 'arguments' she turned to her father. "So dad, can we go car shopping today?"

Ron turned to his daughter eyebrow cocked. "That confident are we?"

"I have $2000 and two A's, and I know I'll get an A on the genealogy project. I worked very hard on it and I turned it in early." Sam argued. "Besides I'm a Witwicky, of course I'll get an A."

Ron chuckled pleased with that statement. "I see, alright I'll pick you up after school and we can check some places out."

"Thanks dad."

"Honey, are you sure you want to wear that to school?" Turning to her mother Sam frowned. Looking down at her t-shirt and jeans she pouted.

"What's wrong with how I look?"

"It's just so frumpy. You're a cute girl; you should wear things to show off your hot body." Judy wiggled a bit in emphasis. "You're only young once Sammy, flaunt it while you got it!"

"Hey, hey, hey! There will be no flaunting!" Ron stated resolutely. "She's fine the way she is!"

"Oh Ron you're such a party pooper! How's our baby supposed to catch a guy if she doesn't show what she's got?"

"I'm not listening, I'm not listening." Ron covered his ears trying to block such images out.

"Yeah…on that note, I'm going to school." Chuckling Sam grabbed her lunch and kissed both of her parents goodbye before making a break for it.

Thankfully the school was only a twenty-minute walk from her house so she managed to get there before the first bell. On the way to her locker she heard a voice calling out to her causing her to pause. Turning around she found her friend Mikaela Banes making her way over.

Sam sighed mentally as she took in the overly short skirt and skintight tank top that did nothing to hide the other girl's form. Not that Sam blamed her, Mikaela had a great body, one every girl was generally jealous of, including Sam. Where Mikaela had bright blue eyes, long black hair, a perfectly slim and curvy body, Sam had dark brown eyes plain brown hair and a rather average form that one could classify as lean and athletic in comparison. Though they were about the same height Mikaela took the prize on bust size. Sometimes it amazed Sam that they were friends, though not terribly close by any stretch of the imagination, but friends all the same.

"Hey Sam! Thanks for your help with my trig homework Friday."

"No problem Mik. How was your weekend?" The two exchanged pleasantries for a time before the bell rang and they had to split up.

It seemed to be a universal constant that when one wanted time to go fast it inevitably slowed down to a near crawl. By the time History class rolled around Sam was ready to pull her hair out. Thankfully she managed to get through that final block and give her presentation to the class. Personally she thought it went very well, and Mr. Hosney apparently felt the same way considering he gave her an A. Extremely pleased she practically ran out of the classroom and to her locker to get what she needed to leave.

"Hey what's the hurry?" Turning her head she found Mikaela watching her in amusement.

"I just completed my end of the bargain I have with my dad, so he's going to take me car shopping today." It took a lot to keep from jumping up and down in excitement. "Hey, since it's going to be a used car can I get you to check it out for me? I mean you're a guru with cars and I'm pretty much not."

"Yeah, that'd be cool." Mikaela's eyes brightened at the prospect, happy that her friend trusted her knowledge in such things. "Just let me know when."

"Cool! Gotta go or Dad might decide to renege on our deal!" Waving goodbye to the other girl she moved swiftly out of the school dodging other teens that lingered in the halls.

Much to her relief her father sat waiting in his little green convertible. Throwing her books in the back she handed him the confirmation of her grade before sliding into the passenger seat.

"Ok, I guess we're getting you a car." The declaration brought a cheer from Sam as they headed down the road. They had stopped at a few places yet couldn't find a vehicle either of them liked in the price range they wanted. At one point Ron pulled into a Porsche dealership just to tease her earning a light smack to the arm for his trouble.

Their final stop for the day was Bolivia's Car Lot, a rather run down looking place with the usual balloons and flags that such dealerships employed to catch peoples attention. At the rather pathetic looking man in a clown suite Sam raised a brow ready to question her father's sanity for choosing such a place but she let it go and got out of the vehicle. Following her father over to a small grouping of vehicles she looked them over with a critical eye.

"Here's a good one." Ron smiled as he took in the look on Sam's face.

"I don't know dad…it doesn't look…"

"It's your first car; it doesn't need to look pretty."

"I was going to say safe."

"Oh." Ron paused to consider the car again, noting the rusty parts and slightly worn down tires. "Ok I'll give you that…"

"Welcome to Bolivia's." They turned to find a tall black man with a colorful shirt walking towards them, his 'sales' smile at 100 watts. "Like the country only without the runs." His chuckles died off as the joke fell flat. He looked to say more when his eye caught something and he turned to yell at another man sitting in the shade of the building. "Hey Manny!"

"What?"

"Get your cousin outta that clown costume. Havin' that heat stroke again. Scarin' the white folks."

Sam exchanged a look with her father, both questioning the sanity of these people. In the background they could hear the clown remarking that his makeup was melting. The owner smiled winningly at them again. "I am Bobby B. How may I help you this fine day?"

"My daughter's looking to buy her first car." Ron motioned towards Sam.

"So you came to see me?" The man pointed at himself importantly.

"Kinda had to."

"That practically makes us family. Uncle Bobby B, baby, Uncle Bobby B." He shook her hand vigorously. "Now as you are looking for your first vehicle let Uncle Bobby B give you some advice. A driver don't pick the car. Mmm-mm. Cars pick the driver. It's a mystical bond between man and machine…or in this case woman and machine." He waited for them to nod in understanding before starting to lead them to another part of the car lot.

As she moved to follow Bobby B and her father one of the cars caught her eye. She paused in confusion, sure that the vehicle had not been there prior. Shaking it off she stepped towards it, taking in the faded yellow paint and black racing stripes up the center of the hood. There were dents and dings and a few rust spots spread along the body, but otherwise it looked rather sturdy. Peering inside via the rolled down window she noted the tan leather interior, somewhat worn but still adequate. A small air freshener in the shape of a bumblebee with the word 'bee-otch" written on it had her chuckling.

"What year is this one?" Her father's voice startled her as it was closer than before. She looked up noting that Bobby looked slightly confused but played it off well.

"Oh uh…I think it's a 75 or 76. Manny! What year is this car?"

Sam ignored them and opened the door sliding easily into the driver seat, surprised at how comfortable it felt. Looking around she noted a basic radio and heating/cooling system on the car. Raising her hands to the steering wheel she let them run along the edge testing the feel of it. A slight glimmer on the wheel had her running her thumb along the center of it to wipe away the grime. It revealed a symbol she had not seen before which looked kind of like a face.

"I'll let you have it for $5000." Bobby's voice caught her attention once more.

"No, no." Ron argued back. "I'm not going over $4000."

"And the door just closed." Bobby stated dryly before leaning down through the passenger window. "Get out of the car."

"Wait a minute." Sam looked at him incredulously. "I thought you said "the car chooses the driver"." She moved when he started to shoo her from the vehicle.

"Yeah well sometimes they pick a driver with a cheap ass father." He informed her curtly before turning to the Volkswagen beetle sitting next to the Camaro. "Now this car over here…"

Sam sighed at the obvious change in the conversation and closed the driver's door of the Camaro. This in turn had the passenger side door of the Camaro opening and smacking against the driver door of the Volkswagen. The three of them stared silently for a moment before Bobby closed the door cautiously.

"See door closed. Now this car…"

Suddenly the radio in the Camaro blasted a shrill noise blowing out the windshields of just about every car in the lot around them. Sam slowly lowered her arms, eyes wide in disbelief as she looked to her father then Bobby. The latter stared in horror at the damage surrounding them as if unable to comprehend the incident.

He swallowed hard before holding one hand up showing four fingers, his voice cracking. "$4000!"


	3. Chapter 3

Ron chuckled as he watched his daughter pull out the car washing supplies later that afternoon. She had pulled into the driveway and immediately announced her intentions running upstairs to change into a bathing suit and shorts. Judy had greeted them at the door not too surprised to see how chipper her child was upon her return.

"Are you sure that's a safe car." Judy asked him for the tenth time after their return. "It just doesn't look safe."

"It's fine Judy. It's a 76, they built cars much sturdier back then."

"But it looks so…grody."

"It's supposed to look that way. It's her first car." He advised as he turned back to his yard, working on finishing up the rest of his path. Judy rolled her eyes at him muttering under her breath about cheap skates.

Sam busied herself washing her new car, taking care to make sure she got all the grime and dirt off, even in the nooks and crannies. Once done with the outside she vacuumed the interior and used special leather cleaner for the seats and the consol.

Running a rag along the steering wheel one last time she grinned happily. "There. You may not be the brightest bell at the ball, but you'll definitely turn heads. Now all that's left is for my friend Mikaela to check you out mechanically and we're good to go. Don't worry she's the best mechanic I know so you'll be in good hands."

Patting the wheel one last time she got out and cleaned up, placing the supplies back in the garage. With one last look at her new 'baby' she grinned happily and skipped up the steps into the house to shower and finish her homework.

Bumblebee nearly purred when his charge started washing his exterior. She used strong sure strokes and a cloth designed for removing even the toughest of dirt without scratching the paint. He hadn't had a bath like that in eons. Oh yes, he was so glad Optimus had chosen him for this mission. By Primus she even vacuumed and cleaned his interior, the leather of his seats felt almost like new. He definitely liked this human.

For a time he was afraid he would never find her, but thankfully he caught a hit off the World Wide Web from the site her local school used. The photo of the glasses confirmed her identity. Luckily no Decepticons had locked onto her position first or there would be more trouble.

Now he needed to contact Optimus and the others to let them know he had found her and the glasses. Then he would need to continue protecting her and find a way to get her to give them the glasses. This would prove the most difficult of his tasks. From the information then had hacked during their research it showed that most humans would have an adverse reaction to alien life forms.

He waited until well after midnight before easing out of the driveway and heading off to a secure location to send his transmission.

The sound of a familiar engine revving had Sam sitting straight up in bed. Blinking at the clock she saw it was sometime after midnight. Cursing under her breath she slid out from under her warm covers and peeked out her window trying to find out the source of the noise. The scene of her vehicle slowly pulling from the driveway into the street and then leaving did not sit well with her.

"Son of a…" Yanking on her tennis shoes and grabbing her jacket she ran from the house and down towards the garage hopping on her old bike and taking off after the perpetrator. "Hey! That's my car!" For a moment she considered calling the police then shook it off. She would follow the thieves and check out the situation. If she couldn't get it back on her own she would get all the information she could on them and then call the police.

Somehow she managed to keep her vehicle in sight as she pumped her legs to get the bike moving. When the car finally pulls to a stop outside the old quarry Sam maneuvered herself behind the old rail cars, keeping low to not attract attention. Pulling out her cell phone she dialed Mikaela.

"…ring…ring…ring…rin…Hello?"

"Mik! It's Sam! Someone stole my car!"

"Sam?" The sleep filled voice on the other end didn't appear to follow the conversation.

"Someone stole my car! I followed them. We're out at the old quarry past Montgomery Street." Sam whispered hastily into the phone.

"Someone stole your car and you followed them?" The disbelief coloring her friend's voice irked the other girl.

"I just got it!"

"That's the stupidest…"

Sam didn't hear the rest of Mikaela's rant as her eyes followed the large form her car just turned into. It stood a good twenty-two to twenty-five feet in the air. One large limb lifted into the air shooting out a blue beam.

"Oh my god…"

"Sam? Sam!"

"Mik…my car…it…it just turned into a robot thingy…and stood up." Sam stuttered into the phone. "My car's a…robot thingy…"

A long sigh filled the other end. "Sam, are you drunk? It's ok if you are, I'll come and get you…"

"No I'm not drunk!" She hissed into the phone. "I'm telling the truth. My car just turned into a robot!"

"Sam…go home and go to bed. You obviously need sleep. Call me tomorrow when you feel better…click…"

Sam stared in disbelief at her phone. "She hung up on me!" Huffing she turned back to the creature that was her car only to find it gone. Blinking she looked again but nothing presented itself. "Maybe I am hallucinating…" Pulling herself up she got back on her bike and made the long trek home wondering what had happened. Not once did she see the yellow Camaro slowly trailing her.


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning Sam stumbled down into the kitchen, grateful that it was Saturday and she didn't have to go to school or function properly for that matter. As usual her mother was puttering around the kitchen while her father drank his coffee and read the paper. Mumbling out a greeting that may or may not constitute a 'good morning' she plopped into her chair trying to work up the energy to get something to eat.

"Well good morning to you miss sleepy head." Ron grinned over at her. "Did someone stay up too late reading again?"

Before she could even process a response her mother placed a plate of toast in front of her and a glass of water. "Hey Sammy, why don't you run some errands for me today? It'll give you a chance to drive your new car." Judy urged her excitedly, knowing how much fun it was to drive a new vehicle.

"How can I when it got stolen last night?" She groaned dejectedly.

"Stolen?" Ron sat up alert. "What do you mean stolen?"

"I heard the engine rev last night and saw it pull out of the driveway. I tried to chase them but…I lost them." She finished lamely still wondering if she even believed what she saw last night.

"But honey." Judy frowned at her in confusion. "Your car's in the driveway. See." She pointed out the window and sure enough the Camaro sat right where she left it last night.

"But…I could have sworn…"

"Ah I know what this is. You're worried about your first big responsibility." Ron nodded assured in his answer. "I was the same way. I used to dream I crashed my car in the most stupid ways and had to tell my old man. Then I'd wake up and find out everything was just my imagination. But you don't have to worry Sammy-girl; nothing bad is going to happen to the car. And if something does happen, we've got insurance."

"I…uh guess."

"So those errands?" Her mother smiled brightly.

"Huh? Oh yeah, sure."

Not twenty minutes later she stood in front of her car, still unsure about the whole business of the night before. Shifting from foot to foot she tried to decide the next course of action.

"Well are you going or not?"

Turning to her mother, who carried several plants for her garden Sam nodded. "Uh yeah…but I think I'll walk. Yeah walking's good. Gives you lots of exercise." She explained as she inched past the car trying to stay as far from it as possible. "I'll uh see you later…" Once down the driveway she made a mad dash around the corner and down the street.

Judy turned to Ron in confusion. "But isn't the point of having a car to drive it?"

"Eh, give her time." He waved it off. "Probably just worried about wrecking it. At least we know she thinks responsibly."

Judy rolled her eyes at her husband's lack of concern over the matter and turned to her self appointed chore. Neither noticed the yellow Camaro slowly leaving the driveway in pursuit of its owner.

"I'm going insane. There's no other explanation." Sam muttered softly to herself as she made her way down the street towards the store. "Great-great gramps went bonkers, maybe it's hereditary? I'm destined for the funny farm? But I know I saw…what did I see? Was it a robot? Maybe it was a food-induced hallucination. I did eat one of mom's burritos…"

"Sam! Sam!...Samantha Witwicky!" The use of her full name broke her from her ponderings.

Blinking she looked up to find Mikaela standing in front of her. "Oh, hey Mik."

"Hey yourself? You ok? You sounded freaked out when you called last night." The other girl regarded her friend curiously. Sam could be weird at times but she had never flown off the handle like she had last night. "Did someone really steal your car?"

"I…thought so, but it was there this morning and…I don't know…"

"Ok…" Mikaela frowned. "So you just went chasing after ghosts on your bike last night?"

"I…" Out of the corner of her eye she caught a familiar hue of yellow. Stopping she turned to look and sure enough her car was half way down the street. Only no one sat in the driver seat and it was inching forward. "I…got to go."

"Wait? What? Sam!" Mikaela watched in more confusion as her friend took off at a dead run looking far more scared than she had ever seen her. Calling out to the friends she had been hanging out with earlier when she first spotted Sam she grabbed her purse and keys and made her way to her scooter. Something was up and she was going to find out what.

Sam just ran, letting her feet lead her to where she needed to go. Moving towards an old garage that was used as a storage area she allowed herself to slow and stop, chest heaving as she fought for breath. Straightening she searched frantically for any signs of the car that had followed her, hoping with all her might she had lost it. Turning to leave she ran right into the front of a vehicle her hands slamming down on the hood. Staring up in horror she felt some relief at seeing the black and white of a police vehicle.

"Thank god." She breathed. "You've got to help me." She pleaded to the man behind the wheel. "My car is chasing me. I know it sounds crazy but…" She paused when she noted that the man did not move to acknowledge her nor did he appear to be listening. "Sir?"

The engine revved and pushed forward throwing her to the ground.

"WHOA! Wait!" Somehow in her panic she was able to read the words 'To Punish and Enslave' etched on the side of the vehicle. Her heart dropped into her stomach at the sight. "Crap." Rolling over to her stomach she pushed up onto her feet and started running again, the cop car in hot pursuit. The car then reared up into the air and changed into a large robotical monster, its red eyes glaring down at her menacingly. Its hand swiped out knocking her down before it slammed into place above her.

"Are you Samantha Witwicky?" It demanded.

"I…uh…"

"Are you Samantha Witwicky?" It roared, bringing up one hand that had transformed into rotating blades, which came dangerously close to her face.

"Ye…yes!"

"Where are the glasses?"

"Wha..I…"

"WHERE. ARE. THE GLASSES!"

Suddenly her yellow Camaro launched into the air and transforming into the robot she had seen the night before and slammed into the creature above her throwing it back. Scrambling she gained her feet and ran onward her heart pounding. It was her mistake to look back as it caused her to slam into Mikaela knocking her off her scooter as both crashed to the ground.

"What is your problem, Sam?"

"There's a monster after me!" Sam flinched when she saw the form of the large dark robot stomping towards them. "And here it comes!"

Mikaela gapped in horrified awe at the thing coming full speed in their direction. Sam grabbed her hand and tugged her to her feet.

"Don't just sit there! Run!"

The two girls took off towards the street only to have Sam's Camaro pull up in front of them and open the door. Deciding that her car hadn't attempted to kill her thus earning bonus points, Sam dove into the vehicle pulling Mikaela behind her. The door slammed and tires screeched as the vehicle tore off away from the threatening robot. Both girls looked through the back window to see the creature morph back into a police car and give chase.

"What in the hell is going on!" Mikaela demanded scared eyes locking on Sam.

"I have no idea. But at the moment I'm more concerned with getting away from the hostile robot."

"Oh my god! We're going to die!"

"What?" Turning her focus to what the other was looking at Sam screamed as they headed full speed towards a wall only to veer off at the last second. Panting to catch her breath Sam threw her friend a wary smile. "Good driver…"

Through the streets they raced as the Camaro did everything in its power to stay ahead of the police car. A few times the other caught up enough to slam into the rear of the side of the vehicle knocking the girls around more than they wanted. Without warning the Camaro veered to the left loosing the other for just a moment. It took them to the power plant, skidding to a halt doors opening.

"I'm thinking that means get out." Sam advised Mikaela both scrambling to comply.

Once clear of the vehicle it transformed into a robot waiting for the police car that came jetting down the road. A slot on the top of the police car opened and a shiny object flew towards them, slamming into Sam and knocking her down. At the same time the police car shifted into its robot form and attacked their savior.

"Witwicky! Witwicky!" the little robot now attacking Sam screamed over and over, little arms connected to rather sharp and dangerous objects slashing at her.

"Whoa! Mik help!" Sam struggled to get the thing off of her, pulling back when Mikaela grabbed the creature and forced it to let go of her friend.

"Get off you little creep!" Mikaela threw the robot away form them helping Sam back up to her feet. "What now?"

Sam searched the ground finding several pieces of scrap metal, on that especially looked like it would do the trick. Scooping it up she used the lessons on welding a bat she had learned from her mother to smash the tiny robot, knocking it back further. Mikaela caught on and grabbed another piece of metal, joining in the fray. With one deft swing Sam managed to disconnect the head from the body.

"Ha! Take that!"

Breathing heavily both females turned to the fight going on several meters away. Soon they only saw shadows dancing upon the large buildings. With trepidation they watched one fall and the other rise victorious, only they didn't quite know which one. They watched silently as it climbed into their view only slightly relieved to see it was their savior.

"What is it?" Mikaela whispered.

"It's a robot. See I told you my car turned into a robot!" Sam continued to watch said robot approaching. "Of course it's obviously a super advanced robot. Probably Japanese." She murmured as it came to stand before them in an imposing image. "Yeah, it's definitely Japanese." Slowly she started walking towards it, her curiosity getting the better of her.

"What are you doing?" Mikaela hissed trying to pull her friend back.

"I don't think it wants to hurt us. He would've done that already."

"Really?" The other drawled sarcastically. "Well, do you speak robot? Because they just had a giant droid death-match!"

"Well we'll find out won't we?" Sam gathered her courage and turned back to the robot in front of her. "Uh…hi. Can you talk?"

For a moment they heard the tune of a radio dial changing and words came out forming broken sentences. "XM Satellite One…Digital Cable brings you…Columbia Broadcasting System…"

"So you…talk through your radio?" Sam surmised.

The robot clapped his hands as the sound of applause came from his speakers. "Thank you, you're beautiful! You're wonderful, you're wonderful."

"So what was that last night? When you drove off?"

Lifting one arm to point towards the starry sky it answered. "Message from Starfleet, Captain…Throughout the inanimate vastness of space…And angels will rain down like visitors from Heaven! Hallelujah!"

"Visitors from heaven." Mikaela frowned thoughtfully. "So, you're like an alien?"

The robot pointed a finger at her nodding in agreement before he converted back into a Camaro. The door swung open. "Any more questions you want to ask?"

Sam blinked. "Guess he wants us to get in the car."

Mikaela scoffed incredulously at her friend. "And go where?"

"Don't know." Sam shrugged, eyes gleaming brightly as she turned to her friend. "But fifty years from now, when you're looking back at your life, don't you want to say you had the guts to get in the car?"

For a moment Mikaela considered not jumping in that vehicle, it was an alien after all. But the look in her friend's eyes touched something deep inside her. So she proved that she had the guts to get in the car.


	5. Chapter 5

They had been sitting in the vehicle quietly for at least ten minutes just driving down the road, or at least their 'escort' was driving. Sam had taken the passenger seat while Mikaela squished in the middle.

"You know." The latter ventured for a break in the silence. "He's a pretty good driver."

"Yeah…speaking of which why are you sitting there? Why not take the driver seat?"

"That would be weird." She gave Sam a look. "He's driving."

"Ok, you got a point."

The silence lingered a bit longer before Mikaela spoke again. "You know what I don't understand?"

"What?"

"If he's like, this super advanced robot, why does he transform into this piece-of-crap Camaro?"

The screeching of tires echoed loudly in the tunnel as the car slammed to a halt. The door suddenly popped open indicating that both girls should get out, which they did without question.

Once they were on the side of the tunnel the door closed once more and the car drove off the opposite direction they had come from.

"I think you hurt his feelings." Sam admonished her friend. "He seems very sensitive."

Mikaela grumbled but didn't comment. Sam wondered what they should do when the Camaro came driving back looking brand new off the line.

"Wow…looks like someone got an overhaul."

Once more the Camaro pulled up to them, somewhat smug for a car, and opened the door. Both girls climbed in, this time with Sam in the driver seat. Settled in the car took off to their destination.

It only took another fifteen minutes to arrive where the car obviously had in mind. It was an alley between several deserted buildings. Sam and Mikaela stepped out standing back to give the robot room to return to his normal form. Both girls looked around nervously wondering just why their savior had brought them there. It didn't take long for the answer to arrive in the form of four other vehicles, a large GMC truck, a Porsche, a rescue vehicle and a large Mac truck.

They watched in amazement as they all transformed, the Mac Truck proving the largest of the robots. Mikaela looked around uneasily as they surrounded them while Sam focused on the obvious leader.

"Are you Samantha Jane Witwicky, descendent of Archibald Witwicky?"

"They know your name." Mikaela whispered worriedly.

Sam just blinked. "Yeah."

"My name is Optimus Prime. We are Autonomous Robotic Organisms from the planet Cybertron."

"But you can call us Autobots for short." The one beside him that had originally been the rescue truck spoke up.

"What's crackin' little bitches?" The silver Cadillac greeted them, dancing around a bit before leaning on the hood of a random car. "This looks like a cool place to kick it."

"My first lieutenant. Designation Jazz." Optimus introduced.

"Where did he learn to speak like that?" Sam asked curiously. "In fact how do you know our language?"

"We have studied your world through the use of the World Wide Web."

"That would do it." She nodded in acceptance.

"My weapons specialist, Ironhide." They turned to see the large robot behind them turn his arms into cannons and push them forward.

"You feeling lucky, punk?"

"Easy Ironhide." The leader chided.

Retracting his guns the large bot shrugged. "Just kidding. I just wanted to show her my cannons."

Sam smiled; he sounded like a little kid with a new toy. "They are quite impressive."

Ironhide seemed pleased by that as he stuck his chest out a bit, standing taller.

Optimus shook his head fondly before motioning to the bot behind him. "Our medical officer, Ratchet."

Ratchet eyed them, a thin blue light moving over their forms. "They appear to be healthy though a bit bruised."

"We're ok. But thank you for worrying."

Optimus moved on. "You already know your guardian Bumblebee."

The bot in question started dancing a bit, arms punching into the air in front of him. "Check on the rep, yep! Second to none!"

"Bumblebee? That certainly suits you." Sam smiled. "So you're my guardian? From what?"

"The Decepticons." Optimus informed her seriously. "They are much like us however their way is not one of peace. They will stop at nothing to reach their goals."

"Why are you here?" Mikaela finally found her voice.

"We are here looking for the All Spark. And we must find it before Megatron."

"Mega-what?"

Optimus held his hand out projecting holographic images of his home planet and the war they lived through. "Our planet was once a powerful empire, peaceful and just, until we were betrayed by Megatron, leader of the Decepticons. All who defied them were destroyed. Our war finally consumed the planet, and the All Spark was lost to the stars. Megatron followed it too Earth, where Captain Witwicky found him…"

"My Grandfather." Sam whispered in awe, eyes drinking in the images projected around them.

Prime nodded. "It was an accident that intertwined our fates. Megatron crash-landed before he could retrieve the Cube." A picture of the Captain fiddling with Megatron's gears causing a bright light to strike him. "He accidentally activated his navigation system. The coordinates to the Cube's location on Earth were imprinted on his glasses."

"How did you know about his glasses?" Sam frowned trying to think of how they could have found them.

"We ran upon your high school's web site and your report on your grandfather which included a photo of the glasses." He explained.

"Ah…"

"If the Decepticons find the All Spark, they will use its power to transform Earth's machines and build a new army." Ratchet warned severely.

"And the Human race will be extinguished. Samantha Witwicky, you hold the key to Earth's survival."

Mikaela leaned into Sam. "Please tell me that you have those glasses."

"Oh I don't think my parents are gonna like this…"


	6. Chapter 6

The group of vehicles turned onto the street leading to her house causing Sam to wonder how they would remain hidden. Thankfully she managed to talk them into stopping for the items her mother sent her out to collect earlier in the day. She certainly hadn't wanted to explain why she forgot to pick up the items on her mother's list. Once in the driveway she and Mikaela hopped out of Bumblebee, each taking a few bags.

"Ok, you guys stay here. I'll run inside and grab the glasses as quick as I can." Sam advised. "Just…don't do anything…conspicuous."

"Please hurry." Optimus urged her.

Nodding, she led Mikaela to the back door not too surprised when her dad opened the door.

"So you finally decided to show up. We thought you had you know skipped the country or something." His voice was light but she could sense the slight reprimand in it.

"I know I'm sorry. I ran in Mikaela and we got talking then I came back for my car, but I had forgotten to get the things mom wanted so we headed out and lost track of time." Sam explained smoothly. Then she held up the bags and shifted so he could see Mikaela as well. "But hey! I got the goods. I get points for that right?"

"I suppose." He nodded. "Though you are 3 minutes past your curfew."

"Oh…uh….wow it really is later than I thought. I'm really sorry."

"Yeah." He nodded solemnly. "Your mom wanted me to ground you."

"She did?"

"Yeah, but I talked her out of it."

"Always looking out for me Dad, that's why you're the best." She smiled widely; well aware she had her father around her little finger. If she really needed to she could play the Daddy card. "Is it ok if Mikaela comes in for a bit? We won't bother you guys."

"Sure, sure, come in." He moved back allowing both girls in. "Hello Mikaela. How are you?"

"I'm good Mr. Witwicky. Sorry about keeping Sam out, but her car is just so cool." Mikaela grinned, familiar with Sam's parents.

"I helped her pick it out you know." Ron grinned happily.

Sam just rolled her eyes, calling a greeting to her mother and setting the bags in the kitchen. Mikaela followed shortly after helping her put the items away before they stole up to her room.

"You check the left side and I'll check the right." Sam waved her friend over to her designated search area. "They should be in a small brown case."

They had searched for a good five minutes when they heard a load crash and the ground shook the house and the power went out. Both paused before running towards the window. Vaguely Sam could hear her father yelling about earthquakes downstairs.

"What…" Sam gapped as she watched Ratchet try to stand up and off the power lines he had knocked down. The others were all roaming around the yard and not doing a good job of avoiding damaging the place. "This is NOT inconspicuous! Oh my god! You destroyed the fountain! And the path! Dad's going to have a conniption!"

"Have you found the glasses?" Optimus maneuvered so that he could see into the room.

"No I haven't! I'll tell you when I do! Now go hide in the alley before my parents see you!" Sam hissed angrily.

"Please hurry!"

"I will as soon as you stop damaging the yard!"

He pulled back as the others ducked to avoid being caught by her father as he looked out the window to check the yard. Sam huffed irritably as she went back to searching, shooting Mikaela a look when the other girl giggled.

"I can't find them? You?"

"I don't see them over here." Mikaela shrugged. "Where'd you have them last?"

"I had them for the project…My bag! Duh!" Sam moved towards the doorway calling out to her mother as she went. "Mom, where's my backpack?"

"In the kitchen. Be careful the lights are out." Came the reply.

Sam resisted the urge to roll her eyes at the obvious statement and refrained from commenting. Mikaela chuckled following close behind her friend. By the time they made it to the lower level the lights had returned making their search easier. It didn't take long to find her bag and the glasses within. Stuffing them in her jean pocket she motioned Mikaela to head towards the front door.

"I'm going to take Mikaela home real quick. That's fine right?" Sam asked her parents as they met up with them in the living room. "It's too late for her to walk. I'll come right back, promise."

"I don't know, after an earthquake there could be debris in the road ways. It's dangerous." Ron shook his head not happy about the idea at all.

"Why doesn't Mikaela just stay here?" Judy asked. "It's not a school night. You can take her back in the morning."

"I really need to get home tonight." Mikaela tried to persuade them.

"Yeah, and she doesn't have anything with her so…"

Before anyone could say anything else the doorbell rang prompting Ron to answer it. He frowned as he found himself faced with several men in dark suites.

"Are you Ronald Wikity?" The first man stated.

"It's Witwicky. Who are you?"

"We're the government." He announced as he pushed past Ron and into the house, the rest of the men following, spreading out to cover the area. Several carried equipment, moving around to check the house out. "Sector Seven."

"Never heard of it." Ron barked, upset that these people had invaded his home.

"Never will." The man advised looking around the room, eyes settling on Sam and Mikaela. "I am Agent Simmons. We have reason to believe that members of this household are involved in a national security matter."

"Ron there are people all over the lawn!" Judy clutched her bat tighter.

"National security?"

"That's right national security." He called out to those wondering around. "Get me a sample and some isotope readings. How are you doing young lady? You're name Samantha?"

"Um…yes?" She shared a worried look with her father, both ignoring her mother's rants about the people in their yard and house.

"Well then I need you to come with us." Simmons started approaching her with a smile that made her more than slightly uncomfortable.

"Whoa, whoa." Ron stepped in front of her. "Way out of line."

"Sir I am asking politely. Back off."

"You're not taking my daughter."

"Really?" Simmons raised a brow looking more amused. "You gonna get rough with us?"

"No. But I am gonna call the cops because there's something fishy going on around here."

"Oh yeah. There is something a little fishy about you, your daughter, your little Taco Bell dog and this whole operation you got going on." The agent drawled.

"What operation?" Ron demanded in disbelief. Judy joined them scooping up Mojo protectively.

"That is what we are going to find out." Simmons advised before pausing as another agent came up to him sharing a whispered conversation. Sam shifted uneasily behind her parents. He looked shocked and excited all at once as he took the proffered equipment from the man and stepped towards them. "Young lady. Step forward for a moment please."

Sam did as asked though not sure she really wanted to. Simmons scanned her with the strange device. It started beeping erratically. "14 red. Bingo!" He turned to the rest of the agents. "Tag 'em and bag 'em."

Suddenly the agents descended upon them separating them individually and handcuffing them before dragging them from the house. Sam struggled but the grip on her arms was too strong. As they were led outside to different cars she heard her mother threatening bodily harm if anyone hurt her dog while her father ordered her not to say anything until they got a lawyer. The agents split them up with her parents in one vehicle and Mikaela and herself in the other.

About five minutes into their impromptu trip Simmons started speaking. "So, Samantha Witwicky." He let his words draw out in an almost sarcastic tone. "You did a genealogy project on your great-great grandfather Archibald Witwicky." He turned to her holding up a palm pilot with a photo of her grandfather's glasses and another of a paper with symbols on it her grandfather had drawn. "Do these look familiar?"

"Well, yes. But how is this a matter of national security? It's a high school history project?" She asked incredulously though a part of her told her that these men knew more than they let on.

"Mr. Witwicky's findings are of some…value to us and the sudden appearance of his name drew our attention." He let a sly smirk form as he watched both girls. "Of course we heard a rather interesting conversation that peeked our attention…" He held up a recorder playing back the information.

'"_Mik! It's Sam! Someone stole my car!"_

"_Sam?" _

"_Someone stole my car! I followed them. We're out at the old quarry past Montgomery Street." _

"_Someone stole your car and you followed them?" _

"_I just got it!" _

"_That's the stupidest…" _

"_Oh my god…" _

"_Sam? Sam!"_

"_Mik…my car…it…it just turned into a robot thingy…and stood up. My car's a…robot thingy…" _

"_Sam, are you drunk? It's ok if you are, I'll come and get you…"_

"_No I'm not drunk! I'm telling the truth. My car just turned into a robot!"'_

"So your car is a…robot?" He emphasized the last word, turning off the recording.

"No…no that would be crazy. I was half asleep." Sam stuttered trying to come up with something now that she knew what they were after. "Hell it could have been a dream. I mean I thought my car had been stolen but it was there the next morning…" Suddenly she sat up and glared. "And what gives you the right to tap into my cell phone conversations? That's private!"

"Not for us they aren't. So you thought your car was stolen but low and behold it came back."

"Well yeah…"

"But not on it's own." Mikaela rushed to intercede. "Because cars don't do that because that would be crazy."

"Right…" Sam nodded enthusiastically breaking into nervous laughter with Mikaela, which was soon joined in by the agent.

Then without warning he stopped, facing deadly serious. "So what do you kids know about aliens?"

"What? You mean like a Martian?' Sam played off as best she could. "What, like ET? No." She scoffed.

"Uh…it's an urban legend." Mikaela added.

Simmons obviously was not amused thrusting his badge into their faces. "You see this? This is a 'Do whatever I want and get away with it' badge." He threatened, his tone growing menacing. "I'm gonna lock you up forever!"

Sam swallowed hard while Mikaela rolled her eyes. "Oh God. You know what?" She huffed with more than a little bit of attitude. "Don't listen to him. He's just pissy because he has to get back to guarding the mall."

Simmons sneered at her. "You, in the training bra? Do not test me. Especially with your daddy's parole coming up."

"What?" Sam looked between the two noting the upset on Mikaela's face. "Parole?"

"It's nothing." Mikaela tried to defend but the agent wouldn't let her.

"Grand theft auto? That ain't nothing?"

"You…you know those cars my dad taught me how to fix up…" Mikaela seemed reluctant to say more but she didn't want Simmons to have the satisfaction. "Well they weren't always his."

"He stole cars?" Sam blinked curiously. It would explain why she had never met the man.

"Well he couldn't always afford a babysitter." She shrugged. "So sometimes he had to bring me along."

Sam nodded in understanding while Simmons continued on his rant. "She has her own juve record to prove it! She's a criminal." His eyes looked her up and down. "Criminals are hot!"

"Hey! That's harassment!" Sam snapped at the man.

Still Simmons went on with his tangent about how it would be a shame if her father had to rot in jail the rest of his life and so on. Meanwhile the device he had used on Sam earlier started beeping at increasing levels. Suddenly something slammed into the car forcing it to spin out and come to an abrupt halt. It knocked against two large legs.

Sam flinched as a light shined brightly into the interior, pulling Mikaela down when she saw the gigantic hand coming toward the windows where it shoved inside and grabbed the roof, the other hand soon following. Both girls cried out as the vehicle was hauled into the air. It shook once before the roof could no longer support the weight of the bottom and broke off allowing the vehicle to crash back onto the ground.

The light flashed into their eyes making it hard to see. Cries of disbelief and panic filled the air until the blinding beam died out revealing Optimus in all his glory.

Sam leaned over towards Simmons. "You're in trouble now." She sing-songed gleefully. "Gentlemen, I want to introduce you to my friend. Optimus Prime."

The deep robotic voice of the leader of the Autobots lashed out towards the agents that started to surround them weapons pointed up. "Taking the children was a BAD move. Autobots, relieve them of their weapons!"

Soon the others descended onto the scene. Ironhide had his weapons out just in case while the others used magnetic energy to call the guns to them rendering the agents defenseless. Once they stood surrounded with hands in the air Optimus kneeled down so he faced Simmons eye to eye.

Somewhat shakily Simmons waved his hand. "Hi there."

"You don't seem afraid." Prime observed. "Are you not surprised to see us?"

"Look, there are certain…rules I have to abide by." The man explained. "I'm not authorized to communicate with you except…to say I can't communicate with you…"

Sam snorted at that sharing an amused look with Mikaela.

"Get out of the car." If Prime sounded annoyed neither girl could blame him.

"Right…uh me? You want me to…" He stuttered not sure what to do but one load command of now had them all scrambling to follow it.

While the bots directed the members of Sector Seven off to one side Mikaela helped Sam out of her handcuffs.

"Why do they have to put these on so tight." Sam complained with a pout as she rubbed her tender skin upon their release. "Did they make yours that tight too?"

"You…you're not upset about what he said…" Mikaela broached meekly. "About my dad?"

"I admit it's a surprise and slightly disconcerting." Holding up a hand to forestall any further arguments she continued. "But I also figure I don't have all the facts. You're my friend Mikaela. I trust you. Besides every family has issues. Hell look at mine."

Mikaela smiled in relief snorting a bit at the last statement and following Sam over to the agents.

Sam approached Simmons who apparently couldn't stay quiet for more than a second the way he kept commenting on the big aliens and their big guns. Deciding to jump right in she crowded his space gaining his attention. "What is Sector Seven?"

"I ask the questions." Snapped the man. "Not you, young lady!"

Annoyed Mikaela threw out one of her own. "How did you know about the aliens?"

"Where did you take my parents?" Sam pushed hoping their tag team effort would make the man tell them something.

"I am not at liberty to discuss…"

"Oh?" Sam reached into his pocket grabbing his badge.

"Hey! You touch me, that's a federal offense." Simmons barked, eyes narrowed as Sam ignored him and checked out his ID. "Oh, brave now, with her big alien friends over there."

"Where's Sector Seven?" She continued nonchalantly.

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

Bumblebee apparently didn't like his treatment of Sam as he popped his oil cap letting the top bounce off the offending agent's head. Then a rather abundant steady stream of oil ran out dousing the human entirely.

"HEY! HEEEYYY!" Simmons protested.

"Bee." Sam gasped in exasperation.

"Bumblebee, stop lubricating the man!" Prime scolded.

The bot followed his orders though he allowed a shrug as if to ask what he had done wrong. Mikaela laughed at the sight while Sam just shook her head fondly. Moving forward she directed all of the agents present to stand in a line and took their handcuffs, linking them all together before closing the final pair around Simmons' hands and a traffic sign.

"What you are doing is a federal offense." He called after the girls as they walked away.

Sam ignored his words, just glad that she had dissuaded Mikaela from demanding the man stripe. Really, who wanted to see that? They walked over towards the Autobots when the telltale sound of choppers grew louder.

"Optimus!" Ironhide warned. "Incoming!"

"Roll out!" The group changed into their camouflage forms and made their way to safety. Prime remained in his true form, lowering his hand for Sam and Mikaela to climb on.

"Up you get." He directed gently. Once situated on his shoulder the bot took off, though some of the copters had already tagged him. He ran down the streets and dodged past buildings all the while managing to avoid stepping on the cars below. He moved to the underbelly of one of the bridges, wedging himself up under the support beams and out of sight.

They watched silently as choppers passed by again and again, growing more nervous with each sighting. Optimus tried to calm them but during one pass he shifted just enough that Mikaela lost balance and fell. Sam lunged out grabbing her wrist, her other hand hanging onto one precarious edge.

"I got you Mik!"

"Sam! Don't drop me!"

Unfortunately Mikaela kept flailing causing her to lose her grip as well as jarring Sam enough that she lost her own hold on Optimus. The two fell fast only the quick thinking of Optimus managed to slow their descent to give Bumblebee enough time to transform, his arms catching them mid-fall after they bounced off Optimus' foot. Bumblebee turned so that he took the hit, his hands cushioning the girls as best he could.

Dazed Sam managed to scramble to her feet, checking on Mikaela first as she could see Bee standing up behind her. All too soon the copters swarmed around them, projecting hooks towards Bumblebee, catching the mech and holding him in place.

Sam screamed at the men to stop, to let Bee go but they did not listen. Cars surrounded them on all sides, men jumping out of them, hosing Bee down with what looked like fire extinguishers. Sam fought against the men holding her, working to push the others away from her friend. Sadly they overpowered her dragging her away from her guardian towards a car where Simmons stood waiting, a smug look gracing his features.

"Happy to see me again?' Sam glared up at him, still struggling to break free. "Put her in the car with her little criminal friend."

With a heavy heart she slumped down in the seat, tears stinging her eyes as she thought about what they had planned for her friend. It didn't take long at all for their transport to leave the scene. Sam turned in her seat as best she could with her hands captured behind her back, staring until she couldn't see Bumblebee any longer.


	7. Chapter 7

The agents of Sector Seven drove the girls to a secure location, throwing them in a random room with no windows. They did provide blankets and some food, but neither felt up to eating at the moment. Instead they tried to sleep as best they could, though Sam couldn't seem to close her eyes without seeing Bumblebee struggling against their captors.

Neither knew what time it was when agents came to collect them, leading them somewhat forcefully to an air mat where a copter waited for them. Both were strapped in and given headsets to protect their ears and allow communication with the others on board. To their surprise they didn't take off immediately. Instead they had to wait for two other civilians, one female and the other male to be shown to the copter and strapped in as well. The female was pretty with blond hair and an Australian accent. The man was a slightly large black male with bottle rim glasses who looked more like an excited kid.

No one spoke for most of the trip after lift off. The silence slightly unnerving.

"So, what they get you for." The blond woman who had introduced herself as Maggie asked conversationally, having grown bored with the silence and rather curious about the two teens.

"Um…I bought a car." Sam responded matter of factly. "Turned out to be an alien robot." Shrugging at their startled looks she added. "Who knew?"

To their surprise the copters began their final destination approach checks upon sighting the Hoover Dam. Sam noted that at least two other copters followed them. All three set down on the tar mac. As they waited for the personnel to unstrap them she saw several military men spill out of one copter and a man who looked strikingly like the Defense Secretary emerging from another.

It didn't take long for their release from the copters and for another group to be directing them to a set of large black SUVs. Once more Mikaela and Sam got sequestered with Maggie and Glenn, who had finally introduced himself. A short drive later had them dropped off at the main entrance of the Dam.

They didn't have much time to look around as the agents herded them after defense secretary Keller's entourage. Sam noted that the same group of soldiers they had seen earlier had lined up, saluting the man as he passed. He stopped to speak with them, though she couldn't hear exactly what he said. Their 'guide' had made sure to keep them back a ways.

A quick motion from another man had their group moving forward, however Simmons waylaid Sam and Mikaela before they could join the rest.

"Hey Kid." He greeted cordially. "I think we got off to a rocky start." He placed a hand on her shoulder, a move she didn't appreciate. "You must be hungry. You want a latte? A HoHo, a…"

"Where's my car." Sam cut him off, not wanting to hear more.

Another agent moved forward, his presence holding more authority given the way Simmons back down. "Ms. Witwicky. I need you to listen to me very carefully. People can die here." He spoke directly and with purpose. "We need to know everything that you know. And we need to know it now."

"Fine. Ok." She nodded in agreement. "But I want assurances that my parents will be freed and I'll get my car back." At this she glared towards Simmons. "Every little bit of alien that he is." She barely registered Mikaela smirking at the now frowning agent but she didn't care. Sam just wanted her family back, and that included Bumblebee. "And Mik's juve record that you were so keen to bring up. How about we make that disappear."

Simmons looked ready to burst but the other man simply nodded. "Come with me. We'll talk about your car."

It wasn't a guarantee but she would take it. If worse came to worse she'd find a way to get Optimus and the others and help them free her guardian.

"Thanks Sam." Mikaela whispered genuinely, touched that her friend would do that for her.

"Like I said. We're friends." Ignoring Simmons she pushed past him following the other man.

It didn't take long to catch up to the other group. Their stares bothered Sam causing her to fidget. She always hated being the center of attention. Especially attention from several very good-looking men in uniform.

An arm slung over her shoulders bringing forth a flinch. "So chica." She turned to find one of the soldiers smiling reassuringly at her. "How'd you get involved with this loco mess?"

"Fig." Another soldier growled disapprovingly.

"Aw come on Capt. We know why the others are here." Fig argued sweetly. "'Sides, she looks rather nervous, I'm just trying to calm her down some."

"It's ok." Sam flashed a shaky smile at the captain, trying hard not to blush as she took in his handsome features. Turning to Fig she answered his question. "My car. He's an alien robot. But he's a nice robot." She added hastily. When Simmons passed them snorting at her comment she frowned and glared at the agent. "And I WILL be getting him back."

Several of the soldiers noted the sudden steel in the young teen's voice, surprised and pleased with this show. Simmons just sneered before waving them all to follow.

"Ok, you're all here because each of you has had contact with the NBEs in some way." He spoke as he walked, leading them to another section of the Dam.

"NBEs?" One of the soldiers asked.

"Non-biological extraterrestrials." Simmons informed him. "Try to keep up with the acronyms." Turning he took them through a guarded doorway and down a deep tunnel which opened up into a large room. "What you are about to see if totally classified."

The group continued on, eyes opening in amazement and awe as they took in the giant frozen form of a robot. Sam shared a frightened look with Mikaela. This thing was a good three feet taller than Optimus and it looked far more deadly.

"Dear God…" Keller breathed out. "What is this?"

"We think that when he made his approach over the North Pole our gravitation field screwed up his telemetry and crashed into the ice." Agent Banachek explained as they walked closer. "Probably a few thousand years ago. We shipped him here to this facility in 1934."

"We call him NBE-1" Simmons announced arrogantly.

"Um…not to be rude and correct you." Sam spoke up softly, voice growing louder at Mikaela's silent encouragement at her side. "But I think this is Megatron. According to Optimus he's the leader of a really nasty group known as Decepticons."

Banachek cocked his head to the side. "He's been in cryo-stasis since 1935. Your great-great grandfather made one of the greatest discoveries in the history of mankind."

Go gramps, Sam thought dryly. Listening as Simmons picked up the talk.

"Fact is, you're looking at the source of the modern age. The microchip, lasers, cars, space flight: all reverse engineered by studying NBE-1." He emphasized the name sneering at Sam. "That's what we call IT!"

Somehow Sam choked back the urge to make a snide comment.

"And you didn't think that the United States Military might need to know that you're keeping a hostile alien robot frozen in the basement." Keller asked sarcastically.

"Until these events we had no credible threat to national security." Banachek defended.

"Well you got one now!" Keller shook his head in exasperation.

"So why Earth?" Captain Lennox quarried.

"It's the All Spark." Sam stated quietly.

"All Spark? What's that." Keller turned to her demanding an answer.

Flushing at the attention she tried to explain. "Um…Optimus said that they were looking for a cube-like object. It apparently is very important to them. Whoever has it would be very powerful. Which is why they didn't want it to fall into Megatron's hands or any Decepticon hands. He said Megatron came here looking for it on earth. Apparently he plans to use it to take over the universe."

"You're sure about that." The question seemed rather loaded coming from Simmons.

"Yeah…" Sam studied him and Banachek, taking in their expression. "You guys know where it is, don't you?"

The looks she got only confirmed her suspicion. Banachek gave only the slightest of nods before directing them to follow him. Sam allowed one last look at the Decepticon leader, her gut churning with dread. Something was going to happen. Soon.

The agents led them through another long series of tunnels and check points until they came upon a smaller room that allowed them a view of an immense area where a large cube, easily dominating the spacious cavern sat.

"This is our crown jewel." Simmons advised.

"Carbon dating puts the cube here about 10,000 BC." Banachek continued the lecture. "The first seven couldn't find it until about 1913. They knew it was alien because of the matching hieroglyphics on the cube as well as NBE-1. President Hoover had the Dam built around it. Four football fields thick with concrete. A perfect way to hide its energy from being detected by anyone or…any alien species on the outside."

"Wait back up." Maggie spoke quietly. "You said the dam hides the cube's energy. What kind exactly?"

"Good question. We'll show you." Once more the group were led to another room within the vast maze of the Dam. Banachek motioned them all inside, the doors locking shut behind them.

"What's that?" Epps eyed the scratches in the metal walls with trepidation. "Freddie Krueger been up in here or something?"

"No man Krueger's got like four blades." Glenn laughed. "That's only three. That's Wolverine!"

Fig started muttering in Spanish bringing Epps attention to him instead of Glenn. "Dude! English!"

"Anybody have any mechanical devices?" Simmons asked. "Blackberry, Key lock, cell phone?"

"I got a phone." Glenn dug it out and tossed it to the man.

Taking the phone he started putting it in the box as the others placed safety glasses on, finding a position around the box to watch the demonstration.

"Oh. Nokia's are real nasty." He muttered placing the item in the center of the box. "You gotta respect the Japanese. They know the way of the samurai."

"Nokia's from Finland." Maggie corrected.

"Yes, but he's, you know, a little strange." Keller shushed her. "He's a little strange."

Turning on the power Simmons explained the process. "We're able to take the cube's radiation and funnel it into that box."

They watched as blue sparks shot into the phone allowing it to glow shortly before it became animated, transforming into a little bot. It started running around the glass box slamming against the sides. It had come right for Sam causing her to jump back in shock knocking against Lennox who stood behind her. He patted her shoulder reassuringly though even he looked freaked out.

As it continued its attempt to escape Simmons continued talking. "Mean little sucker eh?"

"That thing is freaky!" The others silently agreed with Maggie's description.

"Sort of like an itty bitty energizer bunny from hell huh?" Sam thought Simmons was getting way too much enjoyment from this.

When the tiny bot proved it had weapons and started shooting rounds as well as a tiny missile around, the glass beginning to splinter, Simmons pushed a button forcing more energy into the creature, destroying it.

Moving away from the box and preparing to continue with the 'tour' they were interrupted by a series of explosions causing slight tremors to shake the light systems.

"Gentlemen." Keller spoke calmly. "They know the cube is here."

Banachek ran to one of the comm systems. "Status check! What's going on?"

A voice from the other end rang out. "The NBE-1 hanger has lost power and the back up generators just aren't going to cut it!"

Lennox moved forward addressing Banachek. "Do you have an arms room?"

"Come on." He practically ran from the room the rest of them hurrying after. Alarms rang loudly as they raced to the arms chamber.

Once inside it didn't take long for the soldiers to start gathering firearms and suiting up. Several members of Sector Seven's security joining them. Sam stood to the side with Mikaela and the other civilians, letting them handle the gear. Her eyes grew wide at some of the weapons the soldiers chose to outfit the vehicles with.

Simmons started directing them to where certain ammunition rounds were and what they could use. Another tremor had the lights flickering. Sam had had enough. Moving over to Simmons she made her demand.

"You have to take me to my car!" Already the man started shaking his head ready to deny her. "No! You HAVE to take me to Bumblebee! He's going to know what to do with the cube!"

"Your car…is confiscated."

"Then unconfiscate it." She shot back.

"We do not know what will happen if we let any of these things near that cube…well maybe you know but I don't know." He continued in his rambling manner.

"You just want to sit here and see what happens? He can help!"

"There are people's lives at stake here young lady!" He raised his voice finger shaking at her in a condescending fashion.

Sam prepared to argue further only she didn't have to as Captain Lennox grabbed Simmons roughly pushing him up against one of the assault vehicles. "Take her to her car." Immediately the sector seven men drew their guns on the soldier only to have him smoothly point his own gun at the man closest to him, his own men already training their weapons on the rest of the security staff disarming any who tried to move. "Drop it." Lennox warned the man in front of him, face as calm as ever.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Banachek held his arms up trying to defuse the situation.

"Drop your weapon soldier." Simmons tried to command. "There's an alien war going on and you're going to shoot me?"

"You know, we didn't ask to be here." Lennox reminded the other man.

"I am ordering you under S-Seven executive jurisdiction…"

"S-7 don't exist!" Epps snapped.

"Right, and we don't take orders from people that don't exist." Added Lennox.

"I'm gonna count to five, okay…"

Lennox swiftly moved his gun until it sat barrel down on Simmons' chest right above the heart. "Well I'm gonna count to three." The cocking of his gun echoed ominously through the room.

"Simmons." Keller called out.

"Sir?"

"I'd do what he says." The Secretary recommended. "Losing's really not an option for these guys."

Simmons seemed to consider that, his eyes moving from Keller to Lennox. "Alright. Ok. Hey, you want to lay the fate of the world on the kid's Camaro? That's cool."

Sam sighed in relief as Lennox let Simmons up. Banachek waved a hand for them to follow him. Sam was hot on his heels, Mikaela not too far behind. It didn't take long for them to make it to the room where the had Bumblebee captive. Already Sam could hear some of his cries of protest.

Rushing past the agents she practically jumped one of the technicians. "Stop it! You've got to stop! Let him go!"

Slowly but surely the others were warning the techs off and having them back away from the robot.

Bumblebee turned from his prone position on the ground, blue eyes finding Sam. "You ok Bee? They didn't hurt you, right?" Worried she stepped forward, not caring when Bumblebee lunged to his feet, his guns brought to the fore pointed at everyone in warning.

Hands up calming both the bot and the humans Sam yelled to her friend. "It's ok. They're ok…Mostly." She shot a look at Simmons. "But you don't have to worry about them any more. They won't hurt you. I won't let them. Please Bee calm down."

Slowly but surely the bot calmed, his battle mask sliding from his face as he took in the small human female before him. He noted that she looked especially relieved to see him.

"That's it. We're all cool here, no body's gonna shoot any body else." Getting a nod from the bot and making sure all the humans had their weapons down she turned back to her friend. "Bumblebee! The cube, All Spark, whatever. It's here! In this building. But so is Megatron." Quickly she laid out the situation. "The rest of the Decepticons are on their way. We need you to help protect the cube. We're going to take you to the All Spark ok?"

Nodding in acceptance the guardian waved a hand forward. "Lead on MacDuff." The garbled response from his radio had her smiling widely.

With renewed hope they led the bot to the All Spark. Sam kept close to Bee, Mikaela following her lead as they watched him approach the massive cube with reverence then reach up and press along the edges. The humans gathered watched in stunned amazement as sections of the cube shifted and decompressed until it shrank into one small cube held in the bot's hand. Once done he turned to Sam.

"Message from Starfleet captain… Let's get to it."

"He's right." Lennox stepped forward addressing the others. "If we stay here, we're screwed with Megatron in the other hanger." Though not really appropriate Sam felt vindicated when the soldier called the evil villain by his proper name and not that NBE-1 crap. "Mission City is 22 miles away. We're going to sneak that cube out of here and hide it somewhere in the city."

"Right." Keller nodded, fully approving of the plan as they had no other. "Good!"

Turning to the Secretary of Defense Lennox continued. "But we cannot make a stand without the Air Force."

Keller frowned in thought before turning to Simmons. "This place must have some sort of radio link."

"Yes!" Simmons agreed, connecting the dots in his mind.

"Short wave, CV…"

"Right! Yes!"

"Sir." Lennox addressed Keller again. "You're going to have to find some way to get the word out to them…" Looking at his men and at the bot he gave the order to move out.

Bumblebee shifted back into a Camaro the cube safely place in his back seat. Mikaela ran to the passenger side while Sam moved towards the driver side. "Sam get in the car and follow us." Lennox ordered he and his men running towards the other vehicles.

Sam turned to Mikaela as Bumblebee rolled out behind the soldiers. "Well this has turned into quite the adventure."


	8. Chapter 8

Having a military escort proved convenient as no one bothered to pull them over for excessively breaking the speed limit. Then again the road didn't appear that heavily traveled. At the rate they went 22 miles would fly by in no time.

Just as they reached a long stretch Sam caught a flash in the distance. As it came closer she could make out the distinguished form of Optimus in his vehicle state. Ironhide, Jazz and Ratchet close behind.

"It's Optimus." She shared a relieved grin with her friend. They watched as the line passed them only to hit their brakes hard and complete a u-turn to follow them. The others moved to integrate within the military line up and add extra protection.

As they neared their destination the traffic grew heavier. Bumblebee weaved in and out expertly, Jazz on his six all the way. Ironhide and Optimus hung back. Soon loud sirens echoed in the air.

Looking through the rear view Sam paled dramatically. "It's the psycho cop car!"

"They're blocking him." Mikaela cheered. The brief joy turned to fear as a large vehicle suddenly morphed in motion, moving even faster as it approached the others. Optimus took a page out of his book and did the same, turning abruptly to face the Decepticon head on. This move gave the rest of the caravan a chance to make it into the city unharmed.

Once in the city they let Lennox take the lead. He pulled the caravan to a stop, his men setting a parameter and popping green smoke around them on his order. Sam and Mikaela eased out of the car unsure of where to go. They watched as a fighter jet shot over them and through the skyline. Up ahead they heard Epps still trying to get a confirmation through the radio.

Ironhide morphed into his mech form in alarm. "It's Starscream!"

"Please tell me you copy…" Epps nearly groaned into the radio.

"Move back!" Ironhide warned as he and the newly transformed Bumblebee moved towards a truck, holding it up to give them cover. "Take cover!"

"No, no, no, no…Move!" Lennox yelled.

"Back up! Back up!" Ironhide continued his own warnings.

"FALL BACK! FALL BACK!"

Giving one last warning shout Ironhide and Bumblebee braced for impact. Sam grabbed Mikaela moving towards one of the buildings only a short distance from Lennox and Epps. The explosion of the missile sent Ironhide and Bumblebee flying, and several people fell to the ground, smoke and debris everywhere.

Shaking her head to catch her barings Sam heard Lennox shouting in the background.

"What the hell was that?"

"What are you talking about?" Epps huffed.

"What do you mean, what am I talking about?" The man growled. "They shot at us!"

"F-22 pilots would never fly below buildings." Epps told him like he should have known this. "That's alien…that ain't friendly!"

Scoffing at the other man the captain started calling out to make sure everyone was ok. Mikaela nodded at Sam as she helped the other up. Hearing a familiar robotic grown and the scraping of metal on concrete Sam spun around eyes wide in horror as she took in Bumblebee's state.

"Oh God! Bee!" She ran to him as he crawled forward. "Your legs? Your legs! Ratchet! Oh God…You're gonna be ok." She started to assure the bot, though more for her own mind. "Please Bee, you gotta be ok…"

The sound of tank shells going off startled her and the soldiers. Several explosions littered the area as the men all ducked for cover. Sam moved towards her guardian, trying to pull him to the side and safety. Mikaela watched sadly, tears streaming down her own cheeks to match those of her friend's. Eyes searching frantically for some kind of answer she noted a tow truck off to the side. Mind made up she ran over jimmying the door and busting the wires open, for once sincerely glad her father taught her such tricks.

Meanwhile Sam continued her efforts to help Bumblebee get to safety. The bot tried to push her away for her own protection. "No! I'm not gonna leave you!" Moving so that she stared directly at his blue eyes she said it again. "I won't leave you Bumblebee!"

Touched at her loyalty to him Bumblebee gently pushed her back, his other hand extending forward to hand her the cube. He trusted her to keep it safe and tried to convey such thoughts with his eyes. Stunned Sam took the cube, trying to process exactly what he wanted. Emotions raged within her as she fought with what she wanted and what needed to be done.

Thankfully the decision was made for her as a tow truck skid to a stop beside them, Mikaela hopping out of the driver seat. "Sam! Help me with this."

Grinning in understanding she did as asked, patting Bumblebee's arm. "Hold on buddy! We're gonna get out of this!"

Setting the cube to the side she helped Mikaela unhook the towlines and wrap them around Bee so that he could still sit up. They worked quickly and efficiently and had almost completed the task when Lennox and his men came running up to them.

"SAM! Where's the cube?"

"Right here." She pointed distractedly to the object in question.

The captain nodded in acceptance before moving further up the street eyes searching the skyline. He found what he was looking for and ran back to Sam grabbing her attention as Mikaela finished up with Bee.

"All right." He took a breath before speaking, his hazel eyes locking on her deep brown ones. "I can't leave my guys back there, so here, take this flare." He pressed it into her right hand, then handed her the cube. "There's a tall white building with statues on top. Go to the roof, set the flare…"

Sam shook her head, fear and uncertainty taking over. "But…I…"

"Signal the chopper, and…"

"Chopper?...What if…"

"Listen to me." He grabbed her face carefully in his hands. "You're a soldier now! All right. I need you to take this cube and get it into military hands while we hold them off, or a lot of people are gonna die."

Sam took a deep breath and nodded. "Ok. Watch Bee and Mik." She hopped down off the tow truck and shared one last look with her friend and guardian. "Be careful."

Mikaela smiled at her friend. "No matter what happens. I'm really glad I got in that car with you." Sam flashed her a watery smile then nodded solemnly to Bumblebee.

"You gotta go." Lennox told Mikaela as he watched Sam run off in the direction he indicated. "I need you to go."

"I'm going!" She huffed, clipping the last wire on Bumblebee and running towards the cabin of the truck, saying a silent prayer for her friend.


	9. Chapter 9

Sam ran as fast as her feet would take her. She could hear Ironhide and Ratchet following behind her, both working to deflect any missiles and debris thrown her way. Tripping over a destroyed section of the street she barely missed getting squished by Starscream, who landed and started firing at the two Autobots. Scrambling around them, head ducked to avoid any hazards she pushed herself forward.

Get to the building. Get to the building. The chant echoed over and over in her mind like a mantra to help her move forward. Pivoting left and right she worked to dodge the vehicles in the street, almost slamming into the hood of a jeep. Breathing heavily she ignored the angry yells of the people she jostled as she ran by. Just as she thought she had gotten clear of the fight Megatron himself slammed down onto the roadway behind her, the tremors from the impact shaking the ground.

"Come here girl! You have something I want." The bot growled menacingly charging towards Sam.

Forcing her legs to move faster she somehow managed to make it into the building, just managing to turn and head towards the stairs. Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other she ascended the stairs, her muscles burning from the effort. A loud crash and flying glass particles had her ducking her head under one arm as the enemy bot entered the building. Not stopping she made it to the next level.

"I can smell you, girl!" Sam had just enough time to skid to a stop, one arm stretched out, fingers digging into the plaster of one wall, before the floor beneath her exploded and Megatron's form burst through. His fingers reached out to catch hold of the young human, just shy of his target. His momentum was not enough to break completely through the floor allowing Sam some leeway. "Maggot!"

Nodding to herself in encouragement she turned back to the stairs and continued her upward track. Reaching the top floor she had to then traverse an escape ladder to actually make it to the roof. It felt like forever for her to reach the rooftop. Looking around she verified that this was the building Lennox had told her to go to. Shifting the cube in her arms allowing her the ability to ignite the flare, which she tossed to the side of her position.

Squinting against the harsh sun she searched the skies for the helicopter, a feeling of elation flooding her when it lifted up from the side of the building. Running to the edge she leaned out as far as she dared trying to hand the cube over to the soldier reaching back.

A flash of metal moving fast around the buildings caught her eye. Eyes widening in alarm as the bot closed on their position she screamed out a warning to the soldiers. "WATCH OUT!"

It came too late as Starscream fired hitting the chopped in the side in a debilitating blow. Sam fell backwards trying to avoid getting hit by the blast and the chopper blades. Rolling along the rooftop she came to a stop pushing up to her knees as she took in the situation. "Oh god…oh god… What do I do?"

The distant roar of Megatron had her gaining her feet and running towards the statues on the far side of the roof. Just as she slid around the side of one the Decepticon leader broke through the rooftop searching for her.

"Hold on Sam!" Optimus called from a distance, his form running along various building tops to reach her.

One arm gripping the cube and the other clinging to the statue Sam closed her eyes tight praying that she didn't fall. Already her foot had slipped along the precarious edge, sending her heart rate skyrocketing.

"Is it fear or courage that compels you, fleshling?" Megatron's deep grating voice washed over her. Figuring it was a rhetorical question she decided to refrain from answering. "Give me the All Spark and you may live to be my pet."

Sam choked out a terrified laugh. "Well since you put it that way. The answer's going to be a HELL NO!"

"Oh…so unwise." His tone softened to a deadly whisper. Then with a road he struck out, smashing that section of the roof. Sam screamed as the structure fell out from under her sending her plummeting to her death. Time seemed to slow down as she dropped through the air, her mind frozen in complete terror.

It sped back up to normal when her back hit the metal encased hands of Prime who had leapt forward and snatched her body from the air. "I got you, girl! Hold on to the cube!" Pushing off from his perch along the side of one building he bounced from wall to wall hoping to lessen the sped of their fall.

However Megatron had other plans as he careened into Prime's back, both bots left tumbling to the road below. Sam cringed as she braced for impact not sure she would survive. Somehow though Optimus managed to disentangle them from Megatron and flipped to land on his back protecting Sam and the cube.

Not thirty feet from them Megatron worked on getting out of his own crater, sneering at the humans foolish enough to stick around and even going so far as to flick one of them away.

Painfully Sam rolled onto her side, using her free hand to push herself up. Brown eyes found the kind blue of Optimus' optics. His features looked pained and tired, two things she had not equated with the proud leader before this.

"Sam." His tone carried traces of awe and pride within the exhausted vocals. "You risked your like to protect the cube…"

Letting a tired smile pull at her lips she reiterated the Witwicky motto. "No sacrifice, no victory."

Sitting up enough to where he could partially maneuver his body, Prime's visage took on a serious look. "If I cannot defeat Megatron. You must push the cube into my chest. I will sacrifice myself to destroy it." She wanted to protest but couldn't find the words in the face of his request. Instead she nodded in acceptance, scrambling to her feet upon his order for her to get behind him.

Optimus climbed to his feet with weary determination. Turning to his enemy he steeled his resolve for the fight to come. "It's you and me, Megatron."

"No…It's just me Prime!" The other bot sneered in distaste as he attacked the Autobot leader head on.

They two grappled for a time, neither quite getting the drop on the other.

"At the end of this day one shall stand." Optimus declared. "And one shall fall!" He kicked out catching the Decepticon in the mid-drift knocking him back into the side of one building.

Pressing against the weakened foundation the bot regained his feet, throwing himself at the other in a hard tackle, one hand shooting up to crash into Prime's face. "You still fight for the weak!" Megatron mocked, latching onto the other's shoulder and throwing him to the ground. "That is why you lose!"

Crouched down between several overturned cars Sam watched with baited breath as the two super forces battled it out. More than once she had to duck down or move in order to avoid taking damage from flying debris or the crushing weight of newly overturned cars. Finally she saw an opening; not bothering to think about it she darted out and away from the two robots. Her attempt was hindered by the dust and rubble covering the asphalt causing her to slip and slide.

Pain erupted once more in her side as she hit the pavement, twisting and turning in an effort to keep moving. Several loud explosions echoed down a side street that she could not see, followed shortly by the shouts of soldiers. The loud screech of jet engines lanced through the sky as they shot back and forth overhead.

Prime was down unable to get up at this point. For one desperate moment it looked like Megatron would win. Then the welcomed sound of missile fire hitting its target met her ears. Several made their mark, knocking Megatron to and fro, damaging his armor. Not able to let this advantage go she took off, not allowing herself to look back.

Megatron managed to shake off the hits and pursued the fleshling much like a predator chasing its meal. Optimus managed to catch his foot, tripping the giant mech and bringing him down. Sadly the impact caused the earth the shudder knocking Sam off her feet again.

'I am really getting tired of falling to the ground.' She thought in annoyance before fear wiped all thoughts from her mind.

Megatron now hovered over her form though she tried desperately to scoot away from him. His clawed hands creating deep fissures in the concrete as he crawled closer.

"My All Spark!"

"Sam!" Optimus now lay only a few feet form her. "Put the cube in my chest now! Sam!"

Rolling to her feet Sam looked towards Prime then back to Megatron. A crazy idea popped into her head. Something told her it would work. Trusting her instincts she darted under Megatron's body directly under his chest.

"No Sam!"

Thrusting the cube upwards she willed it into Megatron's chest watching as it dissolved and fused with the Decepticon burning through is circuits and spark. Vaguely she felt her hands burning from the flow of power but she ignored it Megatron jerked back in pain, his cries pain filled. Once the cube had complete disintegrated into the bot's chest Sam fell back trying to see how the robot would fall in case she needed to move fast.

Sure enough the damage had finished Megatron off, his body slamming hard into the ground in the final death throws. Soldiers started to spill into the area circling the dying bot.

"You left me no choice brother." Optimus chided sadly as he watched his long time nemesis succumb to the cold grip of death. He then turned to Sam who leaned heavily against the frame of a random vehicle. "Sam. I owe you my life." His tone took on a fond note as well as grateful. "We are in your debt."

Sam couldn't find the energy to refute his statement so she simply graced him with a tired smile, which grew when a familiar tow truck, hauling Bumblebee pulled up next to her. Mikaela hopped out of the cab, grinning triumphantly at her friend. Looking to her guardian she made her way on weak legs to him, her hands finding one of his grateful he made it.

"Prime." Ratchet called out sadly, holding out the remains of Jazz. "We couldn't save him."

"Oh Jazz." Optimus took the body of his first lieutenant and friend. Looking to his remaining brothers he spoke. "We lost a great comrade but gained new ones. Thank you." He addressed the soldiers that swarmed the area. "You honor us with your bravery."

"Permission to speak sir." The sudden sound coming from Bumblebee that actually came from his voice processor and not the radio startled Sam.

"Permission granted old friend."

"Hey! You can speak now." Sam grinned happily up at her friend.

Bumblebee spared her a fond look before addressing his leader once more. "I wish to stay with the girl."

Optimus considered the request before nodding. "If that is her wish."

Eyes bright Sam nodded enthusiastically. "As long as you don't mind the garage, I'm good to go." She chuckled when he gave a shrug of indifference.

Meanwhile Optimus leaned over the corpse of Megatron carefully removing a shard of the All Spark that had managed to survive the power transfer.

"I hate to break up the relief party." Lennox called out. "But we need to get you guys out of here and allow for damage control to come in. We also have wounded that need to be seen too."

No one argued as the clean up began.


	10. Chapter 10

Sam and Mikaela had planned on riding back in the tow truck, which they needed to pull Bumblebee. Ratchet had already confirmed that it would take longer to reconnect and fully repair the bot's legs. They got all the wounded taken care of and handed over the major clean up to the local authorities and two squadrons of National Guard.

Lennox however decided it best to divide everyone who had come with them throughout the vehicles they had left and the remaining Autobots. They would then head back to the Hoover Dam and sector seven. While it too had sustained damage, they would have a better facility to harbor the robots for the time being, not to mention a better medical facility.

Fig agreed to drive the tow truck back with Mikaela while he and Epps road with Sam in Optimus. Epps sat in the passenger seat while Lennox took the driver seat, Sam between the two. It was partially because Lennox felt responsible for her after he sent her up to that rooftop to hand over the cube. She had done everything he asked and more, but the enemy had overwhelmed them. Still, if it hadn't been for her they wouldn't have won.

For her part if Sam hadn't felt so tired she would probably feel embarrassed squished between the two soldiers. To pass the time Lennox and Epps asked Optimus various questions. Sam listened half-heartedly her eyes drooping heavily with the comforting vibrations of the truck. Soon they drifted close, her form sliding to the left until her head came to rest on Lennox's shoulder. However by then she was oblivious to the world, content to sleep for the moment.

"The kid finally dropped." Epps smirked at his friend and Captain, noting his slightly uncomfortable look. "Guess you make a good pillow."

"Shut up." Lennox snipped back without any real heat behind it. Instead he shifted just enough to make the girl more comfortable without waking her up.

"She will need to be checked over by Ratchet once we return to base." Optimus advised them quietly. "As she was holding the All Spark during the release of energy there is no telling if she has incurred any lasting affects."

"What do you mean lasting affects?" Lennox shared a worried look with Epps. "Like injuries or something?"

"I do not know. The All Spark was more than just a container of energy. It held all of the history of our people." He explained. "We do not know how it would react with organisms such as humans. Your mental processors are vastly different from our own."

"So your saying it could have affected her mind or some shit like that?" Epps frowned as he tried to understand what the robot was implying.

"Affirmative."

"Well that's not good." Lennox sighed taking in the painfully young face resting against him. "For now we better just let her sleep. It may not even be an issue."

The rest of the ride was completed in a companionable silence, the humans tired from their ordeals and Optimus lost in his own thoughts.

Upon arriving at the base the members of sector seven, headed by Simmons, directed the Autobots to a large bay and moved the soldiers and civilians into the medical bay where five doctors and several nurses waited to treat them. Lennox felt bad about waking her, but neither he nor Epps were in any condition to carry her.

Sam blinked sleepily when someone nudged her, following whoever it was in a half-aware state. The whole trip became a blur of shadowy figures and random doors. Someone led her to a room that smelled like a clinic, leading her to sit on one of the many beds. Another person tried to ask her questions and checked over her injuries, but her exhausted mind just couldn't focus enough to answer. Finally they just pushed her to lie down, a blanket drawn up over her for warmth and they allowed her to sleep.


	11. Chapter 11

"_So unwise…" The hauntingly evil voice echoed in her mind._

_Once more she saw the hand slam down breaking through the structure and destroying the firm foundation she had sought purchase on. The sensation of falling rapidly settled in her stomach with a queasy uneasiness one usually experienced on roller coasters only a hundred times worse. She watched as the hunkering form of Megatron hung over the edge red eyes glowing gleefully. No sound penetrated her ears, as the world seemed to pass her in mere seconds. In her mind she kept waiting for Optimus to catch her, but he never did. Her body twisted enough for her to see the pavement as it reached up to meet her…_

Gasping harshly Sam sat up in the medical bed, chest heaving in an effort to catch her breathe and still the pounding beats of her heart. Tears slipped from her eyes unnoticed leaving tracks down her blood and dirt stained cheeks. Her whole body trembled from the aftershocks of fear and adrenaline induced by the nightmare.

It took several deep breaths on her part before she managed to calm herself enough to allow the rational part of her mind to take over. When it did the events of the past few days paraded through her mind like one of the slide shows her art teacher enjoyed torturing her students with. It all started with her purchase of her first car, which turned out to be an alien robot. From there the whole thing seemed to spiral out of control and comprehension. The last thing she clearly remembered was climbing up into Optimus' cab to sit between Captain Lennox and Sergeant Epps, after that she couldn't remember.

Taking stock of her surroundings she recognized the basic layout of a medical infirmary. Several beds lined up along the walls, most of them filled with sleeping soldiers. The bed to the right of her held a sleeping Mikaela, who had taken a shower from the looks of it. She noted the forms of Glen and Maggie as well. Most of the lights were off but a few lit up the area, dim enough to allow sight without bothering the slumbering patients.

Checking herself, Sam saw that someone had bandaged most of her wounds, but other than that had let her be. Looking around again she saw two nurses hanging out at the other end of the room, neither looking in her direction. Deciding that sleep would not come again and she had no desire to sit there with her current thoughts Sam slid carefully from the bed, wincing as tired muscles worked to support her. Cold seeped through the soles of her bare feet. She considered putting her shoes on, but as she could not immediately find them it was decidedly too much effort to bother with.

Silently she slipped out of the room pleased to find the hallways empty. Granted she had no idea what time it was, so it could be perfectly logical that no one hung around. For several minutes she just wandered the hallways, not quite knowing where to go.

Soon her feet led her back to the room the All Spark had once been housed in. Hovering near the tunnel entrance she watched as Ratchet moved around absently, working on Bumblebee's legs. Said bot was sitting against one wall, his optics dimmed and several wires hooked up to him likely recharging his system.

Ironhide sat off a good ways tinkering with one of his cannons. Optimus however was nowhere to be seen. Leaning against the wall she just watched taking some comfort in the seemingly ordinary motions the Autobots followed. It grounded her in a way she desperately needed at the moment.

"You should be sleeping." The soft voice by her ear had her jumping in fright. Twirling around to face the person she found Lennox holding his hands up in surrender. "Sorry. Sorry, didn't mean to scare you."

"Well you did." She informed him, one hand clutching at her chest. "But hey, good news, my heart's working great. I'll probably be able to stave off a heart attack for at least twenty years after all I've been through these past few days."

"Always nice to have a silver lining." He agreed, flashing a boyish grin. Taking careful stock of the teen in front of him he noticed the red look of her eyes and the way she hugged her arms close to her chest. "You doing ok?"

"I suppose. Not the best, but obviously better than some." Sam allowed a wry grin to twist her lips, eyes sad as she looked at Lennox. "I'm not the only one who had a rough time the past few days. Are you and your men going to be ok?"

Considering her statement he gave a non-committal shrug. "Maybe. It's a lot to take in and we've lost good friends and comrades. But we're soldiers. It's what we do."

"Thank you." Sam stated after a moment of silence. "You and your men supported me even though you had no reason to. I'm actually kind of surprised you took the word of a teenager against an 'alleged' expert."

"You're welcome." He left it at that not really sure what else to say. Seeing as Sam didn't push the subject he let it drop.

"Do you know where Optimus is?"

"He and SecDef, that's the short call for Secretary of Defense." He added at her confused look before continuing his explanation. "They're still talking and hammering out some details. I have a feeling things are going to get interesting for my guys."

Looking over at the man beside her Sam raised a curious brow. "Am I allowed to ask or is it a 'need to know' deal?"

"I'm sure it's 'need to know'." He chuckled at her phrasing glad to see that she still had spirit. Will had seen older and more experienced men fall to the stress of lesser events. "Then again seeing as your Camaro happens to be on the team you just might fall into that category."

"Is it bad of me to hope not? I'm already going to have one hell of a time explaining this to my parents." A derisive snort escaped her. "That is assuming Simmons and Sector Seven release them."

"What happened?" His face grew grim as she explained the events leading up to her and Mikaela's 'invitation' to sector seven's base of operations. His eyes took on a dark look as he promised to make sure they got sent home. From the tone of his voice it sounded like he would fight the Decepticons single handedly to do just that.

Once more silence settled around them, both shifting their gaze to the three robots out in the main room. It wasn't long though before Will was coaxing her to follow him back to the medical ward for another few hours of sleep. As she followed the man she glanced back at Bumblebee's slumbering form.

Like Mikaela, Sam was really glad she had the guts to get in the car.


	12. Chapter 12

Samantha Witwicky struggled with the items she attempted to pack into the large cardboard box in the garage. No matter how she manipulated the volleyballs and other various toys she thought the soldiers would like, it just would not all fit in the box. Huffing in defeat she turned a glare on her friend and guardian Bumblebee, who was not doing a very good job of hiding his own amusement given the purposely-projected laughter coming from his radio.

"Laugh it up Sparky." She snipped, crossing her arms over her chest. "You're the one that has to carry this with you."

That had the bot falling silent, his blue optics wide in realization. Then he flopped down in full pout mode, arms and legs crossed and one metal lip stuck out further than the other.

Sam chuckled in retaliation. She could hardly believe that only a little over seven months had passed since she met Bumblebee and the other Autobots, members of an alien race that came to their planet searching for an ancient power source of their world. Only one school year passed since the battle in Mission City that had changed her life forever. And not a day went by that she wasn't grateful for it.

Shortly after that fiasco it was decided that the Autobots would have asylum on Earth with the US military and their allies. Currently Optimus Prime and the remaining Autobots, including those that had arrived after their initial contact, resided on a military base at Diego Garcia in the Indian Ocean. They served with the now Major William Lennox, Epps, Fig and the rest of their squad and several new recruits. What they did Sam didn't know, nor did she ask. Still she kept in contact with them, often sending care packages with Bumblebee when he had to report in, or just mailing them to one of the local bases to send over to the boys. Fig had especially liked the alligator-shaped cookies she sent especially for him. Epps had grumbled about that until Sam managed to get them mobile Basket Ball hoops for their recreation. (They had not been able to put in a permanent court and as they were a 'Top Secret' operation the upper brass didn't think they needed such things.) She also sent other odds and ends to the soldiers she knew and occasionally big care packages for everyone to enjoy. In return she often found herself receiving several letters with various little knickknacks and photos of the guys and the bots.

Of all the correspondences she got she treasured the ones from Will the most. Sam had developed a severe crush on the then Captain upon their meeting and the days following the Mission City incident. As she got to know him more through their letters and the occasional Web Cam chat she found herself falling steadily in love.

She tried to tell herself over and over again that it was stupid and she should move on but her heart refused to listen, not even when she saw him and Mikaela kissing that time three months ago, which had left her in a funk for weeks. Finally she just accepted the fact that she would always care for him as more than a friend, but she could not act on those feelings. She couldn't do that to Mikaela or to Will. If they wanted to be together then she would be happy for them, no matter how much it tore her up.

It was during that time that her friendship with Bumblebee really grew deeper. He didn't question when she backed off from talking to the two of them as often as she had in the past, nor did he ask why she gave them false reasons for her actions. The bot's support and loyalty helped her greatly since then. Sadly, he would be gone for at least two months for a scheduled maintenance and training mission. Direct orders from Optimus and Ratchet.

Why they couldn't have done this during the school year while she was stuck in class most days she didn't know, but she also wouldn't question it. While he was her friend and an adopted member of her family, he was also Optimus' soldier and he had to follow orders.

"It's so hard…to say goodbye… to yesterday…"

Shaking out of her thoughts she turned to her friend. "Don't be so dramatic Bee. It's only for two months. Then you'll be back and we'll have a few weeks to play before school starts." She reassured the bot, who started to pull out the water works curtsey of his washer fluid. "Really? Seriously? You can't cry about this!"

The crocodile tears stopped immediately as he looked at her hopefully. "Run Forrest. Run!"

"No, we cannot run from this. Ratchet would have a fit." She admonished. "And he'd likely send Ironhide after both of us! You know how over-the-top he gets about punishments! That bot is crazy!"

Bumblebee's shoulders slumped when he realized her point. He was stuck going to the base for two months. Not that he disliked seeing the others or visiting with them, but not for TWO months! Usually the longest he had to spend away from Sam was a week, week and a half tops! But he did need some work done, and it was time for a serious recharge. Normally he could get away with a quick intake of energon, but as he was still pretty young he tended to use more energy, especially when he and Sam went racing in the desert.

There was no way out of it; he would have to go to the base. He just hoped Sam would be ok without him. Since that incident with Mikaela and Lennox months ago she tended to draw away from others. He didn't know why though, he knew the other two were not in what humans call a 'relationship'. He feared that without him coaxing her out she would sequester herself in her house.

"Hey, cheer up." Sam patted his arm. "You'll get to see the new Autobots that arrived while you were here. Maybe there'll be a cute girl Autobot. Besides it's not like I'm going to be doing anything exciting. I'm mostly going to be researching colleges and scholarships, not to mention working on that project for my advanced Physics course next year."

"It's shake 'n bake! And I helped!"

Sam laughed remembering the last time they worked together on one of her science experiments. "While that would be fun, Dad is still trying to lower his blood pressure from that last incident. Though the contractor did a great job fixing the wall." She added, studying the newer section of the garage.

Garbled sounds that Sam had long ago identified with laughter escaped his vocal system. Sharing another conspiratorial smile she finished rounding up the things she wanted to send to the guys. "Alright that should do it. Just remember not to transform until after they got everything out. Don't want you to have an incident like Ratchet did. Though why one of the guys had a squeaky toy to begin with is beyond me. Still wish they had taped it." She muttered. "It would have been funny to see Ratchet squeak every time he moved and jumping because of it."

Bumblebee nodded in agreement, imagining the event and the regal bot's reaction. It certainly bordered on hilarious. Once Sam stepped back he transformed back into his Camaro form, which still gleamed from the recent wash and wax Sam had given him. The others will be jealous to see the type of treatment he gets from his human friend. Popping the trunk hatch he waited patently for Sam to store the box of goodies inside.

"Ok that's it." She shut the trunk walking towards the driver door. "You want me to come or are you good to go?"

"One is the loneliest number that you'll ever know…"

Rolling her eyes she giggled. "Oh all right. I'll come too, let me get my purse and let Mom and Dad know, ok?"

Bumblebee revved his engine in response. Running into the house she grabbed the necessary equipment for the trip, i.e. her purse, cell phone, money and a soda. Ron wasn't too thrilled about her driving 2 hours to a base and having to take a cab back, but he agreed after Judy gave him a look and Sam used her patent puppy-dog eyes. He still swears that using such tactics was cheating.

Hopping in the driver seat to give the allusion that she was driving when Bee did the actual work, Sam strapped on her seatbelt and they took off for the Army base where they would meet up with a cargo plane headed to Diego Garcia. The whole two hours of their trip the girl and bot talked back and forth and generally acted silly.

Two hours seemed to fly by as they arrived at the gates to the base. Sam showed her pass, waving in greeting to the guard she recognized from previous encounters. The man just smiled and sent her on through, radioing ahead to let the plane know they had arrived. Bumblebee navigated the base towards the airfield where the plane was likely situated.

Sam looked around curiously, seeing groups of soldiers carrying out various duties. At the tarmac they found Bee's ride, with several soldiers moving crates of supplies into the cargo bay. Stopping a good distance away so as not to interfere with traffic Bumblebee let Sam out. Not even three seconds out of the car and someone was swinging her up into a hug.

"Sammy!" The familiar voice of Fig had her relaxing in the hold. She laughed when he started spouting Spanish not knowing a single word he said.

"Fig! Seriously man, English! Ain't nobody know that Spanish shit" Fig set her on her feet again as both turned to see Epps and a man Sam didn't recognize walking up to them.

"Quit dissing my heritage!" He continued his argument once more in Spanish earning an annoyed eye roll from Epps.

"Glad to see you two still get along." Sam grinned brightly, receiving a hug from Epps.

"Fig just needs to learn he's wrong and everything will be fine." Epps joked. "How are you doing Sammy?"

"Good. Bummed you guys are taking Bee for two months, but I'll get through it as long as you promise to take good care of him." She stared at both Fig and Epps with a look only women could perfect.

"Of course chica. Nothing but the best for the Bumblebee." Fig told her.

"Tell me lies tell me sweet little lies…" Played out on Bee's radio.

"That hurts man."

Ignoring Fig, Epps turned to the man that Sam didn't know. "This is Graham. He's joined NEST from the UK."

"Ma'am." The soldier greeted her, his accent clear.

"Just Sam, or Sammy." She shook his hand. "These goons aren't giving you any trouble are they? 'Cause if they are…"

"What are you gonna do about it?" Epps challenged playfully.

"Me? Nothing. I'd get Bee to handle it." She advised him innocently.

"Float like a butterfly…Sting like a bee!" Floated into the air around them.

Graham watched the interaction the others had with the girl and the bot with curious amusement. From a few well placed inquiries, he knew that she was responsible for sending a lot of their 'presents' to help the soldiers enjoy their down time. Lennox's original team had been the only ones to ever meet her before though, and their descriptions didn't quite do the girl justice. Seeing her in person now he could understand why they felt protective and fond of her. There was something about her that just compelled you to like her.

"So what'd you get us?" Fig looked inside the car not finding anything.

"What makes you think I got you anything?" She raised a brow indignantly.

"Because you love us and you're awesome like that." Epps started moving towards the car. "It's gotta be in the trunk…"

"God you guys are like children!" Sam huffed, hands on hips. "And yes I did, but you can't see it till you get back to base. I heard about what happened with the water balloons."

"That wasn't our fault." Epps protested Fig joining though in Spanish as usual.

"Oh really?"

"Actually." Graham cut in, smirking at the scene. "According to scuttlebutt that event was due to actions on Major Lennox's part."

"The hell it was." Said major came upon them at the tale end of their conversation. Flashing them a mock angry look he stopped a few feet from them with arms crossed over his chest looking rather imposing in his fatigues. "I would never allow such shenanigans."

The group eyed him silently for a moment before Sam turned to Epps and Fig. "He totally started it, didn't he?"

"You know it."

"Si…"

"Hey! Whose side are you on?" Will pouted playfully breaking into a wide grin as he swept Sam up in a hug. "Good to see you Sammy-girl."

"You too." Sam had stiffened slightly when he first hugged her but relaxed quickly enough that he didn't seem to notice. However she could not hide the slight blush from the other three standing there. "So when do you guys head out?"

"Soon actually." Turning to the Camaro he patted the hood companionably. "You ready to go Bumblebee?"

"There's no place like home..."

"You'll be fine Bee. It's only two months."

"I will survive…"

Sam chuckled having dealt with all of his antics before. "Look, just behave. You do that and I promise I'll have a nice surprise for you when you get back. Ok?"

"…Groovy…Well aren't you the sweetest little thing…Gimme some sugar…"

"Hey…don't get fresh." Snickering she whacked Bumblebee lightly on the roof. "I'll see you in two months. If you need anything just text me."

"I will return victorious…"

"Right…You guys have fun." She turned to the soldiers. "Oh, and if ANYTHING happens to Bee, I'll know who to look for." Watching them squirm under her gaze was quite rewarding but she decided to cut it short as they were on a schedule. "Seriously though you guys stay safe too. Don't go looking for fights, plenty of them already come to you."

"I heard that." Epps snorted.

Leaning into the open window she grabbed her purse and keys, as Bee didn't really need them. "Well then I'm off. Make sure to keep these soldier boys on their toes Bee."

"Roger that Houston…"

"Great." Epps rolled his eyes. "And I thought we had trouble with just the twins."

"It was good seeing you guys." She hugged Epps and Fig then surprisingly Graham as well. "It was nice meeting you. Good luck keeping this group in line."

The Brit nodded, still somewhat shocked at her show of affection. However he didn't miss the slight narrowing of Lennox's eyes, neither did the other two given the way they smirked. Sam finally turned to the Major and gave him a brief hug as well.

"See you later Major." Sam pulled back moving to leave only Will had other plans. With his hand still lingering on her lower back he started walking with her.

"I'll walk you to the gate." He offered, though it sounded more like a command. "Get everything on board, I'll be back before lift off." The soldiers knew better than to say anything and even Bumblebee stayed quiet for once.

Sam tried to protest but they were already walking back towards the main gate.

"So, your parents waiting for you?" Will tried to make basic conversation.

"No. I'm gonna call a cab."

"Wha…No, you're not doing that." He immediately shot that down.

"Um…yes I am."

"No, you'll take my car." He dug his keys out of his pocket and pushed them into her hand. "It's just gonna be sitting here on base collecting dust. At least this way you have wheels since we're confiscating your ride for the next couple months."

"Will…"

"Please Sammy-girl. It'll make me feel better." His eyes caught hers and she found she couldn't deny his request, not like she could deny him anything if he asked.

"Fine. But remember you said that if you get a call that I wrecked it." She warned playfully, poking him in the chest. When he didn't return her smile she frowned. Studying his face she found he looked rather uncomfortable. "I'm just kidding, I really won't crash it. Promise."

"I know that." He rolled his eyes a bit before taking a deep breath. He didn't want to pry but he had this gut feeling that all was not well with Sam, especially where he and Mikaela were concerned. "Is everything alright?"

Sam blinked. "Yeah…As far as I know. Why?"

"I meant with you and Mikaela? She said you guys haven't been hanging out as much and to be truthful you've been pretty distant with me the past few months as well." He kept a close eye on her reaction but aside from a slight tightening around her eyes, which could simply be stress, she didn't react. "You do know you can talk to either of us about anything right? Even if it's something we're doing that's bothering you."

"I know. But honestly there's nothing wrong." Giving him a rueful smile she tried to defuse his worries. "I really have been very busy. I've been accepted into the advanced program next year, which means AP courses and I already have work for some of those classes. Plus I have to start researching colleges and scholarships this summer. Once school starts up I won't have a lot of time to get my resumes ready and sent off. I haven't really had a lot of time for anyone aside from Bee, and that's usually because he drives me everywhere…and helps me with my homework. Though Dad did ban him from assisting in my science projects…"

"Why?"

"There was an…incident…with the garage…it took a couple of weeks and a contractor to fix." She explained sheepishly. "Personally I think he was over reacting. I mean it's not like we blew up the entire building."

Will just stared at her in disbelief trying to understand what she was saying; yet at the same time not wanting too. "Right…remind me not to let you two in the lab on base…"

Sam gave him a look. "Spoil sport. Anyways, I need to get going or Dad's gonna freak. You guys have a good trip and be safe."

"Yeah you too kid." Will hugged her close one last time before forcing himself to let her go. He smiled at the startled look, which slowly turned into a shy smile in return her cheeks a bit redder than normal. He stood watching a bit longer as she walked to the parking lot to his car then slipping inside. He finally headed back to the airfield when she closed the door.

Will knew that a lot of what she said to him had been the truth. He didn't doubt Sam had a lot going on school wise. The kid was smart, near genius level when she worked at it, but something told him that it wasn't the complete truth. When he thought about it her attitude had changed almost three months ago, which was the last time he had seen her and Mikaela. They had just returned to the states for a month's leave. He tried to think over everything that had happened but nothing in particular came to mind.

"So did you kiss her goodbye?" Epps teased when he met up with the other man. The rest of the soldiers going with them were already inside the plane strapping in for take off.

"What? No." Will frowned at the other in disapproval. "She's 17, that means not legal. Besides I'm too old for her."

"You trying to convince me or yourself?" Epps eyed him knowingly. "Besides, when we get back in two months she'll be 18."

"Doesn't matter Epps. There's no way she's interested."

"Really? Then why'd she start avoiding you and Mikaela after catching you two kissing?"

"What?"

"Our last leave. Mikaela planted a big one on you. Sammy saw it though she didn't say anything." His friend reminded him. "And if you were worried about age why'd you start something with Mikaela?"

"I didn't, we didn't." Will stuttered in disbelief mind reviewing that memory. "She was just thanking me for helping her out with something and got carried away, she even said so…"

"Really? Well Sammy don't know that does she?" With that said Epps made his way into the plane calling back over his shoulder one last time. "Just so you know, there are a lot of guys that can't wait for her to turn 18. A little food for thought."

Will didn't know what to say to that. However his friend had made his point, loud and clear.


	13. Chapter 13

Nearly a week had passed since Sam dropped Bumblebee off at the base. He had text messaged her once to let her know he was fine and they had made it. She had also received an email from Will and the guys verifying their arrival and thanking her for the "beach" kit she sent. A few photos came not even two days after they arrived, showing the squadron out on the beach, volleyball net in place and what looked like a rather vigorous game in process. They even had a few Autobots she hadn't met yet playing the game. Others were enjoying the beach balls and water guns she had included. It made her happy that she could bring some joy into their lives, as hard as they worked.

In the meantime she had been very busy working on her physics project and her research into colleges. So far she had most of her project done, though she would have to complete the paper to go with it. She had spoken to Mikaela briefly in that time, however the other girl was working full time at a body shop fixing bikes to earn money and didn't have a lot of time. After working all day long Sam doubted she had the energy to do anything else so she tried not to bother her friend much.

Mikaela didn't take it that way. Instead she saw her friend avoiding her and decided to get to the root of the issue. She had a vague idea, especially after a brief email from Lennox, but she wanted to be sure. So she had marched over to Sam's that Friday with a plan to force the other girl to dress up and go to a party one of the football players was throwing that afternoon. After all they both needed a break.

Pulling into the driveway on her bike she noticed the car sitting in the garage through the window. She would have to remember to ask Sam about that since she had not seen it before. Heading to the back door she knocked, smiling when Judy Witwicky answered.

"Mikaela!" The woman greeted happily. "Please tell me you're here for Sam?"

"Um…yeah? Is something wrong?" It was rather unusual for Judy to say something like that.

"That girl has been cooped up in this house for far too long." The woman explained as she led the other inside. "I know I wasn't always thrilled about having an alien in the garage, but at least Bumblebee could talk her into going out from time to time. Now she just tinkers on that physics project and researches colleges." Sighing tiredly she turned to the teen. "That sounds bad doesn't it? There she is working hard for her educational future and I'd rather she was out partying and getting into trouble!"

"Well if it helps I'm going to make her come with me to a party today. Just a bunch of teenagers listening to music and being stupid." Mikaela grinned mischievously.

"Really? Oh that's wonderful!" Judy crowed happily. Pushing the girl towards the stairs she shooed her on up. "Go get her!"

Chuckling at the odd woman's behavior Mikaela made the familiar trek to Sam's room, knocking lightly. When no answer came she knocked again, pushing the door open to peek inside. What she found had her blinking in confusion.

Sam stood, blindfolded, in the center of her room throwing darts at a map of the US. Clearing her throat loudly she had to duck as Sam startled and misfired one of the darts.

"Hey watch it!"

"Sorry!" Sam quickly apologized ripping the blindfold off. "Mik? What are you doing here? I thought you had work."

"I have today off. What are you doing exactly?" Waving a hand towards the map with darts already sticking out of it she eyed her friend.

"Well…I couldn't really decided what school I wanted to go to. So I figured why not let fate decide. But I'm not too big on fate, so I thought I'd meet in the middle. I throw five darts, whatever state and or city they land in I'll research their schools and narrow it down to my top choice. That way I can cut down on my research." She explained happily. "See, one dart hit Virginia, they have good schools there. Oh and Texas…"

"Uh huh…You need to get out." Mikaela declared, throwing her helmet on the bed. "Your mom says you've been inside way too long working on the college stuff and your homework. Which by the way shouldn't even exist. This is summer. You need to get out and have some fun."

Looking around at all the stacks of papers and pamphlets Sam cringed. "Ok I see your point. But I figured I need to get a head start. There aren't a lot of scholarships out there…and even fewer from some schools. Plus I think I know what I want to do, but I'm not really all that sure… As for the physics project, that is a huge grade, and could technically help me in my college application…"

"Right… We're going to a party, so you need to go take a shower while I pick out an outfit for you."

"But…"

"NOW!"

"Yes ma'am!" Sam darted into her ensuite bathroom closing the door to comply with Mikaela's commands.

Shaking her head fondly at her friend's antics Mikaela took in the room and all the obvious research her friend was putting into this. She saw that Sam had clearly organized it into sections, one dealing with scholarships, another set aside for colleges, and even those separated. Moving to her desk she saw the start of several different papers and applications. One had to admire Sam's tenacity. When she put her mind to something she did it 150%.

Speaking of which she had some other snooping to do. Checking to see that the bathroom door was closed Mikaela snuck over to Sam's bed. Like most girls she would keep her private items carefully hidden away either under the bed or in the bedside table, or if she really had it bad, inside her pillowcase. Checking the latter first she smiled triumphantly when her fingers brushed up against what felt like a photo. Snatching it out she looked down at a rather candid picture of Major William Lennox.

'So that's how it is.' She thought gleefully. Her friend had a thing for the Major. She had it really bad too considering the worn state of the photo. She would simply have to set the record straight. Sure she had thought Lennox was sexy, but he wasn't for her and she knew that. The kiss had really been a heat of the moment type deal. 'But first we need to get you out of the house.'

With renewed determination she stuffed the photo back in place and headed towards Sam's closet, specifically the back where she placed all the 'racy' clothes her mother and Mikaela had bought for Sam. Digging through the hangers she found a pair of shorts that would come to about mid thigh, allowing for some modesty but showing off Sam's runner legs. Then she pulled out a plain white tank top and the black bikini Judy had picked up on a whim for her daughter. To Mikaela's knowledge it had never been worn. Next she focused on the shoes, finding an adorable pair of sandals with just enough heal to finish the look.

Placing the chosen garments on the bed she pulled out her pack, digging through it for her make up. When the shower stopped she walked to the door and knocked. Sam peeked out a moment later, wrapped in a towel.

"Put these on. No arguments, no negotiations." Throwing the clothes at the other she allowed her to close the door and get dressed.

"Uh…Mik, is there a reason I'm wearing a bathing suit." Sam asked as she stepped out, the bikini in place and her shorts on. Mikaela nodded approvingly. Apparently Sam's normal clothes hid a lot more than she thought.

"Yes, the party is up at the lake. People are likely going to be swimming."

"Then can't I wear my one-piece? I don't feel comfortable in a bikini…"

"No. You look good and you need to show off a bit." Mikaela argued.

"I doubt that…"

"Oh really?" Mikaela took out her cell phone and snapped a photo of Sam in her suit and shorts. Then she started searching her contacts for the person to send the photo to.

"What are you doing?"

"Getting an objective opinion on how you look." Mikaela stated matter-of-factly, pushing the send button.

"What? Who are you sending that too? Mikaela!"

(On Diego Garcia)

"…And why do we have to go through these reports? They're boring man!" Epps bitched and moaned as he and Lennox read through the daily reports. "The others get to go to the beach why not us…"

"Because we're the ones in charge." Lennox reminded him dryly still focused on the mind numbing report in front of him.

"Hey Captain, you're still cooped up in here?" Figs walked in with Harrison and Graham.

"It's Major now." Lennox reminded his friend and subordinate, a sly smirk on his face. "And somebody has to do the dirty work."

Suddenly his cell phone beeped interrupting them. He went to reach for it where it sat on the table but Epps beat him to it. "Hey that's mine!"

"Yeah well I'm confiscating it in the name of sanity. Mine." He flipped it open checking the incoming signal. "Mikaela sent you a photo." He threw a rather accusing look at his friend.

"What?"

"Let me see." Fig leaned over Epps shoulder as he opened the file. Both of them froze, eyes wide in amazement. Fig started babbling in Spanish.

"Amen to that." Epps agreed wholeheartedly.

"What is it?' Lennox demanded, trying to grab his phone back.

"Apparently Sammy doesn't think she looks good in a swimsuit so Mikaela sent us a photo asking for our 'objective' opinions." Epps grinned evilly at Lennox as the man stilled his attempts. Tossing the phone to Harrison, Epps asked his opinion. "I'm going with a yes. What about you Jimmy?"

The man snatched the phone out of the air reviewing the photo carefully a long whistle escaping from his lips. "I'd say damn hot. But I think we should get the other guys' opinions on this. What do you think Graham?" He showed the Brit the photo.

"How old is she?"

"Not old enough for any of you!" Lennox growled as he snatched the phone away. "And really you guys should be ashamed…Acting like a bunch of…" His voice trailed off as he got a good look at the photo on his phone. His eyes traced every curve and shape that he could, trying to memorize the picture.

"You need some time alone Major?" Fig asked playfully, knocking fists with Epps.

That seemed to break him from his trance. Looking up he frowned at them. "Shut up."

(Back at the Witwicky residence.)

"I can't believe you sent them a picture of me looking like this!" Sam grumped, pulling on her tank top angrily.

Mikaela rolled her eyes hiding her grin as Sam continued to complain. Her phone beeped alerting her to a response. Glancing at it she allowed her grin to turn smug. "Well apparently they appreciated it." She held the phone up to her friend. "Will says you look good by the way."

Sam paused in her rant, a blush growing over her features as she turned from Mikaela to hide it. "I'm sure he's just being nice. Besides why are you sending your boyfriend photos of other girls? Isn't that against some sort of girlfriend code or something?"

Mikaela studied her friend's stiff posture and that fact that she still refused to look at her. "He's not my boyfriend. We've never gone out and we never will." Sam turned to her, eyes wide and shocked. "He's not my type and I'm not his."

"But…you guys were kissing and…"

"That was a one time thing. He pulled off one hell of a favor for me and I was so excited I just planted one on him." Mikaela grinned saucily. "I mean yeah he's hot and all, but he's a bit too straight laced for me. Besides you like him and I don't pouch from my friends." Sam blushed again, eyes falling to the floor. "That's why you backed off isn't it? You thought we were going out so you grew distant to give us space to be together."

Shrugging she turned to fiddle with her bag. "I figured if you two were happy I'd be ok…Besides it's not like he'd ever think of me like that. I'm like a kid sister to him…"

Mikaela snorted. "Uh huh. So whose car is in the garage?" She decided to change the subject to calm the other girl down.

"Will's. He wouldn't let me take a cab back from the base when I dropped Bee off. So he's letting me borrow his car till Bee gets back." At Mikaela's look she started defending herself. "I tried to say no, but he was worried and insisted. It's not a big deal. Like I said he thinks of me as a sister."

"Sam. Guys do not let their sisters drive their cars." Mikaela chuckled at her friend's naivety. "Now sit still, we aren't finished just yet."

Seeing Mikaela armed with various make-up products Sam backed away, arms raised to ward her off.


	14. Chapter 14

Sam sat off to the side watching as boys and girls, some she recognized from school, partied like teenagers were want too. More than a few had brought booze, and she swore she saw more than one joint passed around. Music blared for one of the cars parked by the lake, its speakers custom designed for high volume. Several teens were in the water playing around by tossing beach balls back and forth and splashing others. Mikaela sat talking to one of the football players that clearly had a thing for her.

She tried to join in and have fun, but Sam felt so uncomfortable around all these people. It didn't help that she had seen war in all its horrible reality, something these teens hadn't. She may have been innocent in some things, but not in the truth of the world and consequentially the truth of universe. As such she didn't feel a connection with those that should be her peers.

"Samantha Witiky right?" A deep voice caught her attention.

She watched as Brendan Carter eased himself beside her a drink in his hand and what he obviously thought of as a suave smile on his face.

"It's Witwicky actually." She corrected absently. "You're Brendan Carter? You play on the football team right?"

"That I do. Tight End Receiver." He boasted proudly. "Never thought I'd see you at one of these things, you always seemed more…academic."

"Is that your nice way of saying Nerdy?" Sam grinned cheekily, pleased at his sheepish look.

Brendan chuckled. "Yeah well, you know what I mean."

"It's cool. Mikaela thought I needed to get out of the house. Apparently I'm supposed to be enjoying summer." She explained.

"So are you? Enjoying summer as it were?" He asked, one hand waving absently to the party scene before them.

"It's not bad. A little…" She paused as they watched two guys throwing a third into the water. "Different from what I'm used too. Definitely louder…"

"Yeah. Jake just upgraded his speaker system and wanted to show them off. Supposedly they're top of the line. Cost him three grand."

"For speakers?"

"Well they're the best. Besides his parents are loaded so it doesn't really matter." He shrugged indifferently.

Sam chose not to comment on that. "So you enjoying your summer?"

They talked for a while much to Sam's surprise. Before none of the guys at school had seemed interested. Of course she also wasn't stupid and knew it had a lot to do with her current state of dress. As the party dragged on Sam started to get tired. Speaking with Brendan hadn't been bad, but she was ready to leave. Searching for her friend she found Mikaela more than a little tipsy dancing with her current guy of choice.

"Hey Mik…Um I'm sort of ready to go…Is it ok if we leave now?"

"Aww Sam! We're having so much fun." Mikaela giggled as she stumbled against the jock, his arms wrapping around her waist. "Can't we stay a little longer?"

"Yeah Sam." The guy added. "It's too early to leave."

Frowning at the interruption Sam prepared to argue when Brendan came up behind her. "I can take you home. I'm ready to split this gig anyway." He offered.

Sam didn't really want to go with him but Mikaela patted her shoulder. "Isn't that nice Sammy? He'll take you home."

Seeing as her friend obviously didn't want to leave and Brendan had offered she nodded. "You're sure?"

"Yeah, come on." Both of them bid farewell to the other teens as Brendan led Sam over to a rather trumped up looking Mustang. Sliding into the passenger seat Sam tried to ignore the part of her that warned her that something wasn't right.

The ride back was mostly in silence with Brendan turning the radio to a station that played mostly soft music. Sam frowned at that but said nothing. She tried some small talk but it seemed to fall flat after a little bit.

About twenty minutes into the hour ride back to the city Brendan pulled his car off the road pulling into a small out of the way side road. Turning off the motor he grinned broadly at Sam.

"Why'd you stop? Is there something wrong with the car?" Sam frowned at him, not liking the look in his eye.

"Nope. Just thought we needed some 'quiet' time." He let one hand land on her knee gripping the skin tightly before letting his fingers wander up towards her shorts.

Sam jumped at the sensation, moving quickly to dislodge his hand. "Well I don't really think that's a good idea…"

Brendan ignored her, his other hand sliding around her neck and pulling her in for a kiss. He shifted the hand from her leg up to her arm in a bruising grip to turn her towards him. His lips crashed down on hers hard, demanding a response. Sam's heart beat wildly in fear and anger, her arms coming up to fight against him, but Brendan had far more strength than she did.

"Stop…stop!" She protested once he released her mouth, his lips moving to her neck and shoulders. His hands roamed over her form, knocking her flailing hands away as if mere gnats. "No!" Sam moved her hands against his chest in an effort to push him away. Again he ignored her.

"Aw don't be such a tease babe. You know you want it. Why else would a geek like you dress like this?" His hand moved to the inside of her thighs, his touch painful and demanding.

Having enough Sam brought one knee up into his side, striking a rib. When he pulled back in surprise she swung her right arm hard, fist connecting with his nose. Briefly she felt the cartilage give way and he fell back to the other side of the vehicle crying out in pain and cradling his now bleeding nose.

"What the fuck!" He snarled angrily at her. "You bitch! You broke my nose!"

"I told you to stop!" Sam glared at the boy moving fast to get out of the car when his hand lashed out towards her. She barely had enough time to scramble out, her purse falling to the ground just under the car. Pissed Brendan revved the engine and drove off the moment the door had closed behind Sam.

Breathing hard and shaking from fear Sam watched as the car lights fade from sight in the darkening twilight. She gathered her purse trying to focus on what needed to be done and not what had almost happened. Her knuckles stung from the impact and she could make out the beginnings of bruises on her hands and arms. Tears slid from the side of her eyes as she started to push the items back into her purse. However any hope she had about getting help relatively soon died the moment her hand made contact with her completely destroyed cell phone. It seemed one of the Mustang's tires had crushed the device quite thoroughly.

Choking back an angry sob she let her frustration out by throwing the ruined phone to the ground and screaming in rage. After a few minutes spared to lament her horrid luck she finally accepted the inevitable and hauled her purse over her shoulder and started walking. At the very least she knew the direction that she needed to go.

Focusing on putting one foot in front of the other and pretending that she didn't hurt where her would-be-rapist had touched her, Sam continued to move forward towards home. At least with the coming night she had some relief from the heat that usually permeated the air during this time of year. However the logical part of her mind reminded her that it also got extremely cold at night, and a tank top, shorts and bikini were not going to provide enough protection for her. Luckily the act of walking provided some warmth.

Though she knew not to hitch hike, especially after some of the lectures her father had given her over the years, she did plan on waving down a car to hopefully find someone with a cell phone to make a call for her. Yet so far she had not even seen the hint of headlights.

At least an hour had passed since she started walking and she began to wonder just how long it would take her to get home. The lake was a good hour away by car, walking would be much, much longer. It also seemed Brendan chose a route less traveled. It wouldn't surprise her if he pulled this sort of thing before on other unsuspecting girls. Jerk.

The welcomed sound of an engine grew louder in her ears. Stopping she turned towards the way she had come, eyes searching the distant road. Soon a set of headlights crested the hill and Sam breathed a sigh of relief.

Moving as close to the side of the road as she dared she waved her arms trying to get the driver's attention. Squinting to get a better idea of the vehicle she noted the black and white coloring and the lights sitting unused on top of the vehicle. For one irrational second terror overwhelmed her at memories of a very similar vehicle that had turned into a psychotic robot.

'Don't be silly Sam. There haven't been any Decepticons in the area since that one time. It's just a cop patrolling the area that's all.' Shaking her head at her own foolishness she flagged down the vehicle with renewed vigor.

The car started to slow down as it got closer much to Sam's joy. She started smiling ready to greet the driver when she noticed that no one sat in the driver seat.

"Oh you've gotta be kidding me." She hissed in despair, turning on her heal and breaking into a flat out run, kicking her shoes off in the process.

Behind her she heard the squeal of tires on asphalt as Barricade took off in pursuit. Dodging towards the grassy hills she hoped the uneven surface would slow him down and allow her time to escape. Mid-chase the robot transformed, the sound very familiar to Sam after nearly a year with Bumblebee. A loud bang, similar to that of a gun, shot off causing her to duck in hopes of avoiding the bullet. Only Barricade had not fired a weapon but a net to capture her. The wire based mesh of the net hit her hard, sending her sprawling as the trap wrapped around her. She tried to struggle out of the net, but it seemed to grow more restricting with each movement until she couldn't move at all.

Heart pounding in her ears she watched with baited breath as the robot walked calmly over to her, his red eyes flashing with satisfaction. He spoke in the strange Cybertronian language Bee and the others occasionally used, obviously sending a signal out.

Suddenly the sound of a jet overhead alerted her to the arrival of another robot. Her mind flashed back to Mission City and the one they called Starscream. Again she heard the sounds of a bot transforming and seconds later two large robotic legs slammed into the earth next to Barricade. This was not Starscream, though he had a similar form, his body seemed sleeker, and his eyes far more menacing.

"Is this the fleshling?"

"Samantha Witwicky. And it looks like she's without her annoying guardian." Barricade answered.

"Did you scan her?"

"Not yet." Then he turned to her, hand outstretched as a green light flared to life and connected with her body moving from head to toe. When the light touched her skin she could feel a strange tingling sensation. Looking down she gasped in awed disbelief at the strange glowing symbols on her skin.

"What?"

"It is confirmed. She has residue from the All Spark." Barricade informed the other.

"That's not possible!" Sam spoke up, too shocked to be scared. "Ratchet said it didn't affect me!"

"Well either he was wrong or he didn't want to scare you." The new robot replied scathingly. "You fleshlings are rather weak after all."

Sam just glared at him. "What do you want?"

"You are going to assist us with a little problem." Barricade announced. "Thundercracker is going to take you. If you wish to live you will do as he says."

She didn't bother asking what would happen if she declined their 'request'. No doubt they would kill her and possibly others she cared about. So she focused on the issue at hand. "What do you need my help for?"

"That is not your concern, you will simply do what we tell you girl." Thundercracker bent down so that his eyes met hers. He definitely had a more threatening aura then Starscream. In fact it reminded her greatly of Megatron. Satisfied that the human would be quiet the Decepticon pulled back looking to Barricade. "You know what to do."

With that he transformed back into a F-15 fighter jet, the cockpit open. Barricade reached for her, pulling her high into the air. Sam tried one last futile attempt to break away with no luck. The bot brought up one hand allowing the fingers to slide back within him and a single needle like device to come forth. Eyes wide with fear Sam trembled as he stabbed the needle into her shoulder, none-too-gently either. Not even seconds later her vision darkened around the edges until she was pulled completely into unconsciousness.


	15. Chapter 15

Sam groaned painfully as her body and brain decided to rejoin the land of the living. The throbbing behind her eyes didn't lessen any as sunlight glared against her lids. In an attempt to stave off the pain she tried to roll over, hoping to hide her head under her pillow. Only her movements were restricted to a tiny space and she made contact with hard unyielding metal instead of her soft familiar bed.

Blinking she forced her eyes open, squinting against the glare from the glass above her. Looking around she saw the controls and features that made up the interior of a fighter jet. Confusion lasted for only a minute as the memories of the night before came rushing back to her mind.

Jerking at the realization she once more found her movements restricted. Looking down she took in the straps holding her in place and the larger than normal cuffs that kept her hands constricted in front of her.

"Oh god." She moaned pitifully.

"Stop that incessant moving, fleshling. We have another hour before we arrive at our destination." The voice came from the consol directly in front of her, confirming that her captor was Thundercracker.

"Where are we?" She would have tried to look out the window but she didn't think she could the way she was strapped in. Also given the speed the jet flew at she was having trouble keeping her stomach in one place.

"We will be arriving in Russia at the northern point of Lake Baikal. From there we will traverse into the mountains and our destination."

"Russia." Her voice came out weak and uneven. "And…why are we going to Russia? I mean...I don't even have my passport…"

"When we reach our destination you will know. Until then shut your trap."

Knowing that he would say no more on the subject and she wasn't exactly in a position to push it, Sam leaned back into the seat and tried to stay calm. Mentally she wondered how long it would take her parents to realize she was missing and piece together what happened. And even if they did, how would they find her without a way to trace her?

Deep in thought she formulated a plan of escape. Somehow she would give her captor the slip and find a phone.

When Thundercracker finally landed Sam had no idea what time it was or where exactly they were. It looked like a small stripe of land that might have been used as an airstrip at one time in the past, but now laid barren and unused. The bot commanded her to exit the cockpit, the seatbelt retracting automatically, though the cuffs remained in place. It took some scrambling and awkward maneuvering but she managed. Stepping onto the cool ground on sore bare feet she moved a good twenty feet from the bot as it took its bipedal form.

Glaring down imperiously at the human Thundercracker reached out one hand allowing a chain of energy to connect to the cuffs holding her hands in place. Using that he tugged her along after him. It would take a good two days for them to reach their destination. He would have flown, but the magnetic field was still active restricting his ability to land safely. As there were no other places closer for him to land in his alternate form this would have to do.

Sam fought to keep up with the giant bot in order to prevent being dragged, but after four hours of trailing him she started to lose the energy needed to stay upright, especially at the pace he had set. The terrain certainly didn't help with the rocky ground and forested area. Her feet gathered more scrapes and bruises given their unprotected state. Her wrists were beginning to throb painfully, the skin rubbing raw from the metal of the cuffs. It was also colder in this region of the world, likely due to its location in the hemisphere and her outfit was not helping in the slightest.

Finally when it all became too much she called out to the bot. "Stop! Stop, I have to rest…I can't…"

Thundercracker growled as he turned on the human, his optics scanning her form and registering the truth of her words. Of course it only proved the weakness of these Earthlings, their forms so pitiful that they could not withstand an easy trek. He considered carrying her but was loath to do so. His system beeped alerting him to the change in body temperature of the human. It only figured that she couldn't handle such temperatures. Irritated he knew they would need to stop for the night, as the temperature would only grow lower with the coming darkness. He couldn't let her die too soon after all.

"Fine." Moving to a better area he sat down allowing her to do what she would though keeping her within easy reach. "Rest human. But do it quietly."

Sam considered dropping right there, however that would not prove beneficial for her survival. She knew from the darkening sky that night was falling. She would need someway to keep herself warm. Given her captor's 'friendly' nature she highly doubted he thought to pack a blanket or food.

Calmly she listed off everything that she would need. First and foremost a fire to keep her warm. Thankfully there was plenty of wood around. Then she would need water. Sure she could go a long time without food, but water was essential.

Gathering up branches and some leaves she started constructing a pit for her fire. Making sure she had enough wood to last the night she set up the kindling. Using two rocks she tried again and again to make a flame, only it would not spark. Knowing she had no other choice she turned to the Decepticon watching her.

"Excuse me, Thundercracker? Could you possibly light this fire for me with a small laser strike? Nothing too big, just enough to get it going?" When he didn't move she added. "Look you obviously need me alive for whatever…but I'll freeze without a fire. I'm also going to need water."

The robot rolled his optics but pointed a finger in the direction of her fire pit and let a small laser fire, sparking the kindling into flames. He then opened a section of his storage unit pulling out three bottled waters. That he had known about when they planned this little abduction. Setting the bottles in front of her he turned to ignore her for the rest of the night. He certainly didn't expect to hear her thank him.

"Thank you." Sam told him honestly as she gathered up the bottles and moved over to the fire. Putting a few more pieces of wood onto the flame to keep it going she took a sip of the refreshing liquid happy at the relief it gave her sore throat. Sitting down tiredly she watched the flames trying to revise her plan.

Originally she had hoped to just trick the bot to looking away long enough to give her a chance to run. However, with the addition of the energy chain to the cuffs she knew that plan would no longer work. Giving up for the moment as the physical and emotional stress from the past days' ordeals swept over her she shut down her mind and focused solely on getting through the night.

The next morning Thundercracker had woken her with a hard jerk to her chain. For a moment she was disoriented and more than a little surprised that she had survived falling asleep in the wilderness, even with her 'comrade' nearby. Once she had taken care of business, a rather embarrassing task when one had to explain it to an alien robot, she once again trailed after the Decepticon.

This time he went slower, though if because he cared for her wellbeing or simply because the terrain grew more treacherous she didn't care. More than once he had to carry her over the more dangerous sections of the path. Something he didn't do gently at all. In fact her collection of bruises and cuts grew throughout the day's toils. Wherever they were headed it obviously wasn't near any towns.

After long hours of silently hiking behind the bot Thundercracker finally called a stop for the night. Too tired and sore to even bother moving another inch Sam just dropped right then and there. She didn't even care about a fire at this point, too exhausted to worry about such things. Instead she curled up and drifted off to sleep wondering if there was anyway out of this.


	16. Chapter 16

"Major!" Turning to the soldier approaching Lennox nodded in acknowledgement. "Satellites picked up a radiation signature. It's not responding to the Autobot signal."

"Pull it up." He motioned towards the main screen. Optimus Prime stood behind him, studying the images brought forth.

"Where is this location?" The large bot inquired.

"Just north of Lake Baikal in Russia." Another soldier read out. "Signature is moving north east."

"We got any closer images?" Lennox squinted as photos popped up showing a large robotic-like creature in still frames.

"Decepticon." Ironhide growled out as he joined them in their recon. "Looks like one of the seekers."

"Indeed. But why would he go to this region? It appears uninhabited…" Optimus mused.

"What can you tell me about the location?" Lennox turned to the men running the radar.

"Like Optimus said it's basically uninhabited. There's a small town about 100 clicks to the north. The maps doesn't show anything else, but satellite imaging is marking what looks like an abandoned base."

"Hmm…Might be a secret military location left over from the cold war." Lennox thought out loud.

"Could it be possible this base may have something he is looking for?" Optimus posed the question.

Ironhide leaned closer to the photos on the screen. "It looks like he is using an energy chain to drag something."

Lennox and Optimus both frowned at that and looked again at the screen.

"Guys can I get a clearer picture than this?"

"Yes Major." Less than a minute later they were looking at more satellite images, this time with much better resolution.

"Thundercracker." Ironhide hissed angrily.

"It appears that he is dragging a human. But why?" Optimus frowned thoughtfully. It was not like Decepticons to deal with humans aside from killing them indiscriminately. However this clearly was not the case.

"Try to get a close up on the human." Lennox ordered the men then turned to the Autobots. "We'll set up a basic strike force. We can drop in and surround them. Once we have them surrounded we'll extract the civilian and trap the enemy…"

"Sir we have a visual."

Lennox, Optimus and Ironhide all turned to the screen. Optimus hissed in surprise while Ironhide let out a curse. Lennox felt like the floor had dropped out from under him. The photo clearly showed the captive's arms encased in cuffs with the energy chain connected to them and pulling her onward. The female looked tired and definitely in need of medical attention given the number of cuts and bruises littering what skin they could see. But all of this is not what had Will fighting to keep control of his emotions.

"Someone will have to tell Bumblebee." Ironhide whispered to Optimus.

"Yes, but we cannot let him go off on his own…"

Will ignored the two bots, his eyes still locked on the image in front of him. The picture that showed the civilian captive was clearly, undeniably Samantha Witwicky.

Sam trotted along behind Thundercracker in an effort to keep up. Like the morning before he chose to give her a rather unsavory wake up call then proceed once she saw to her needs. Even though she had a regular supply of water her energy levels continued to drop. From the headache and flushed cheeks she would guess that she had gotten sick on this little incursion. If she was lucky it was just a cold, if not it could be an infection from any one of the numerous cuts she had garnered the past few days.

Thankfully the terrain had evened out some, though it still had a liberal amount of rocks that cut into her abused feet. If she got out of this alive she swore to soak her poor tootsies for at least a week. Once they healed she might even consider a massage or the very least a pedicure.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a harsh tug on the chain, which undermined her balance and sent her tumbling to the ground. She was dragged a good meter before she managed to get back up. Scowling at her captor she continued on trying to ignore the pain from her latest injuries.

The morning had dragged on into the late afternoon before the tree line opened up onto a large clearing. Thundercracker paused, his optics scanning the area for something. Sam took a moment to catch her breath then look around.

The area was huge, consisting of several old buildings and lots of space. From the overgrowth and disrepair she surmised it had not been used in a very long time. A few abandoned vehicles sat scattered here and there confirming this used to be a military base of some sort. From the faded symbols painted on the vehicles this base had operated when the Soviet Union was at its height of power.

"This way fleshling." Thundercracker pulled on her restraints leading her towards one of the larger hangers.

Huffing in annoyance she complied trying to ignore the creepiness of the place. It reminded her of the perfect place for one of those horror movies Mikaela liked so much, especially now that the sun was beginning to set and the fading light cast an eerie glow over everything.

At the hanger Thundercracker easily pushed the large doors aside as if paper instead of steel. Beams of light shot out from his chest sweeping the area. Sam tried to stay outside, her gut telling her she wouldn't like what she would find inside the hanger. Sadly she had no choice as the Decepticon pulled her forcibly into the building. The interior was just as poorly maintained as the exterior and Sam could see signs that animals had taken to visiting on occasion.

A harsh guttural command in Cybertronian had her stopping short. Squinting in the failing light she startled when she made out the form of a tank, the barrel pointed right at them. Thundercracker didn't seem surprised in the least and replied in kind, at which time the tank transformed into its own bipedal form.

Sam gulped as she now had two extremely large and imposing machines standing over her, neither one on her side. The two Decepticons exchanged words and the tank turned to her bending down to get a good look. It took all of what little courage she had left not to step away.

Apparently the bot was satisfied and pulled away, turning to lead them further inside. He raised an arm and lights flickered on, the brightness of the florescence making Sam flinch. Considering the state of the hanger she almost wished he hadn't bothered with the lights.

All too soon she found herself standing between the two bots gazing at a machine that looked like a combination of alien and human technology pieced together.

"Once the device absorbs the All Spark residue from the fleshling the Energon Harvester will be operational." The unidentified bot informed the other.

"Good. And the resources of this region will be adequate to provide the energon needed?"

"Yes, for a time. We will move it once we have stripped this region of its natural resources. There are several places on this planet that will be acceptable for our uses."

'That's not good.' Sam frowned as she listened to them. From what Bumblebee had told her Cybertronians used energon as their source of food. He never said where it came from or how it was gathered, but he did indicate that Decepticons had no problems stripping other planets of their resources to create their food. And now Earth was on the menu.

Suddenly the chain on her cuffs snapped freeing her from the bot. Thundercracker then pushed her towards the other bot who held out a small mechanical device that had Cybertronian symbols etched all along its surface.

"Um…I don't think I want to hold that. In fact my mother told me not to handle things I don't know the origin of so I'll just be going…"

"You will do as you're told fleshling. Take the device." The bot thrust the item forward in a threatening manner.

"Ok…" Taking the device she held it as far from her as she could, slightly surprised at the weight of it. When nothing happened she fidgeted. "Uh…is it supposed to do something?"

The two bots stood up and started speaking in their language the conversation growing heated from the increased beeps and clacking sounds. Noticing that they seemed to be ignoring her for the moment she started to back away and too the side. When they still did not take notice of her she made a run for it, keeping close to the wall and slipping out a side door. Of course her absence didn't remain unnoticed long considering the roar of anger echoing from the building.

Sam refused to look back instead she urged her legs to run as fast as possible. She ducked behind a section of lower buildings, scrambling for a hiding place. The earth shook from the force of impacts coming from the two bots running around searching for her.

"Get back here fleshling! There's no where for you to go!"

"You are only prolonging your imminent death!" The other bellowed.

'Oh yes, that's gonna convince me.' She thought sarcastically, crouching down between a group of barrels. When one passed uncomfortably close she had to cover her mouth to try and control her breathing. For a heart stopping moment she thought it would detect her but it moved on. Letting out a sigh she relaxed enough to crawl from her spot and check the area.

With coast clear she tried to make a break for it towards the woods. It proved a mistake, as the bots were not as far away as she hoped. One of them crashed into the building she had been taking refuge behind, tearing through it and throwing debris in every direction, including hers.

She flinched and ducked, swerved and ran trying to avoid getting crushed. A missile slammed into the ground about 20 meters in front of her blocking off her escape. She barely had time to slide to a stop before the blast threw her back to the ground. Dazed she rolled to her side pushing up on her forearms. Another blast nearby had her throwing her arms over her head to protect herself. When the dust started to settle she looked over her shoulder watching as the tank bot came towards her.

Sam tried to get back up but she found she couldn't move fast enough. Looking down she found her leg pinned down by a large portion of concrete. A sense of defeat filled her as she saw that giant hand coming ever closer to her.

Just when she thought it was all over the Decepticon reared back in pain as a blast slammed into it from behind. Then all hell broke loose.


	17. Chapter 17

(An hour earlier)

"Alright listen up!" Will Lennox called out to the men in the plane. "We'll have to drop one mile outside of the target location. There is a large radiation signature in the area which the Autobots think means there's more than one contact. We're going to surround the abandoned base and neutralize the threat. We need to proceed with extra caution on this one. The target has a hostage. No one will fire until the hostage has been retrieved or otherwise ordered to do so. Ratchet and Sideswipe will be with Beta team taking the east quadrant. Optimus and Bumblebee will head up the alpha team on the southern front. Ironhide will lead the Delta team with the twins for the west and north. Take up position and do not move until the order is given. Any questions?"

"Sir, do we know who the civilian hostage is?" Fig called out. Both he and Epps had noticed their commander's foul mood since the Intel had come in. Something was under his skin but he wouldn't say what. They also noticed that Bumblebee's attitude had soured greatly after a quick conversation with Prime.

Will didn't want to say but he knew they would need to know. Shifting slightly he forced the words from his throat. "It's Sammy." That caught everyone's attention. Even the men that had never met the girl knew about her and appreciated the gifts she often sent to the base. Those that did know her grew deadly serious.

"How in the hell did those Decepticon scumbags get Sammy?" Epps demanded.

"I don't know ok." Will snapped. "What I do know is that she's a hostage for whatever reason. And we're gonna get her back. That means everybody's got to be on top of their game!" He let his gaze wander around meeting the serious gazes looking back at him. "Gear up! Drop in ten!"

The men worked in silence no one really sure what to say. Given the black look on his face, no one dared to engage the Major in conversation.

Before long their journey was over and the light turned green alerting them to the drop. The ramp dropped down and the men moved out. On the other plane the Autobots started their own descent into the wilderness surrounding the base. With efficiency born of long hours of training and years of combat experience the soldiers completed the jump. Once down they squads broke up and moved into position.

Will stood beside Epps as the other checked the area through binoculars. "Target one acquired headed towards the north side air hanger. Hostage is still in possession, some weird ass glowing chain hooked up to her."

"Enemy sighted. Position status." Will ordered through the radios.

"Beta team in position and holding." Graham advised over the radio.

"Delta team in position and ready to engage." Ironhide growled through the link.

"Hold position." Will ordered, turning to use hand signals for his own team to spread out. Optimus sat behind him in vehicle form, Bumblebee next to him.

"Something's going on in there Major." Epps caught his attention.

"We've got movement coming out of the hanger." Ironhide echoed over the radio.

Suddenly two large bots exploded from the hanger in pursuit.

"Get back here fleshling! There's no where for you to go!"

"You are only prolonging your imminent death!"

"Shit Sam's on the run. Alpha and Beta teams move in. Delta hold position. If you can grab Sam do so." Will nearly yelled into the radio.

The soldiers crept closer guns at the ready. They could see the Decepticons searching around a smaller section of buildings. When they passed one section the radio crackled with Harrison reporting.

"This is Delta team, hostage spotted she's making a run for the woods!"

Apparently they were not the only ones to notice as one of the bots roared suddenly crashing into a building and destroying it. Soon he followed it up with missile fire.

"Engage!" Will yelled over the comm.

"Autobots! Roll!" Optimus followed shortly and everyone moved. Bumblebee sped forward transforming mid motion and firing his plasma cannon at the Decepticon closing in on Sam. The volley made a direct hit knocking the other bot back and all hell broke loose.

The Decepticons twirled sending return fire. Explosions rang out as the other groups joined in. Bumblebee and Ironhide tag teamed the bot that had directly fired on Sam while Sideswipe and Optimus cornered the other one with the soldiers. Ratchet was dispatched to where Sam was pinned down according to the Intel, the twins serving as a defense line. For the most part the soldiers held back allowing the Autobots full run of the battle adding support fire where needed.


	18. Chapter 18

Sam kept her arms over her head as best she could praying that nothing else would fall on her. She tried to slip out from under the slab of concrete but it had her pinned effectively. The pain was starting to overwhelm her. Tears streamed down her face and she bit her lip to keep from screaming.

The next thing she knew hands, human hands were touching her shoulders and arms, a voice calling out to her.

"Samantha Witwicky? Are you Samantha? Talk to me." The voice demanded.

"…Yes…" She gasped out.

Another set joined the first, though this one closer to her legs and examining the section where the slab had pinned her. "This is important. Can you feel your legs?"

"…Hurts…" She bit out, managing to turn tear filled eyes up to the soldier speaking to her.

"Ok, that's a good thing. Now I need you to stay completely still for me. We're going to move the slab." He continued, all the while checking her pulse and flashing a light in her eyes to check her responses. "I know it hurts now but when we lift the slab it's going to hurt even more. I need you to stay strong for me. Can you do that?"

Sam couldn't quite answer so she nodded in stead, taking a deep breath.

"It will be alright Samantha." The familiar voice of Ratchet reached her over the explosions and gunfire in the distance. "I am going to monitor your systems while we do this."

Again she nodded, hands clenching against the device she still held.

"Ok. On three." The man kneeling next to her advised. "One. Two…Three!"

On three, Ratchet lifted the slab and the soldiers pulled her free moving her over towards the tree line. Ratchet came by scanning her the entire time and talking with the humans working on her. The rest of the soldiers and two bots she had not seen before formed a perimeter around their position.

Sure enough when the slab was moved and her blood flow fully returned to her leg the pain tripled. Sam cringed against it but didn't move as the soldier had asked. They worked fast to immobilize her leg. One moved to give her a shot of morphine but she stalled his hand.

"Wait…take this…" She passed him the device. "Said it was power source for…Energon Harvester…in…hanger…tell…Optimus…"

"Ok. I'll tell him." The medic assured her taking the proffered device and setting it aside. Then he completed administering the shot. It didn't take long for her to succumb to the drugs, the exhaustion working in tandem with the pain medicine to send her to sleep.

Ratchet paused in his scans when he heard Sam speaking to the medic, his optics studying the device that she handed over. He could clearly read the Cybertronian script on the outer shell. A chill swept through him at the realization of what she held. Optimus would need to know immediately.


	19. Chapter 19

Ironhide laughed triumphantly as he finished off the Decepticon, Bumblebee close behind him. To his left he saw Sideswipe and Optimus walking towards him. Thundercracker had managed to take his alternate form and escape, though not unharmed.

"Report." Optimus called out.

"Threat neutralized." Ironhide informed him proudly.

"And the soldiers?" His blue optics turned down to Will.

"A few injuries but we lucked out this time. No casualties." He told the bot. "Epps get on the line call the planes to land here, there's enough room and Ironhide said the radiation field was off now. Optimus we need to move this scrap metal off the runway."

"Understood. Ironhide, Sideswipe." He moved with the others to drag the remains of the Decepticon to the side.

"Lady Samantha…"

"They're bringing her now Bumblebee." Will assured the bot and himself. "Medics have her, she's in good hands."

To try and keep his mind focused Lennox started dishing out orders for clean up and evac of the wounded. They pulled everyone to the side near the buildings as the planes dropped down and landed. During this the soldiers of Delta squad came forward with Sam strapped to a board, Ratchet and the twins close behind.

"How is she?" Will inquired as he moved over to the medic and Sam's prone form.

"Her right leg is fractured, but it is a clean brake, which is surprising as it was crushed under a concrete slab. She has several lacerations, abrasions and bruising all over, especially to the undersides of her feet. She's dehydrated though not dangerously so, and she's showing signs of malnourishment. She has a mild fever that I believe is from infection due to her untreated wounds." The medic ran over the list as quickly and succinctly as he could. He watched as Lennox nodded absently, his eyes focused on the sleeping teen. The medic really didn't want to tell him this since he had heard how protective the Major was of the child but he needed to know. "Sir. There's a bit more."

Will shot his eyes to the man sharply at that tone. When the medic moved him off a little ways from the others he knew he wouldn't like what he had to say. "The light isn't the greatest but we did note some bruising on her arms and thighs that appear to have been caused by hands…human hands."

Will blinked his mind blank as he tried to process those words. "What…"

"I can't be a hundred percent sure until we speak to her, but given the age of those bruises I would say they were formed prior to her abduction."

Shocked at this news and more than a little angry at the thought of anyone hurting Sam, Will tried to calm himself. "Ok. Don't say anything to anyone else until we get the story from her."

"Yes sir." The medic then held out a strange metal object. "She also said this needed to be given to Optimus. It's something to do with an Energon Harvester. It sounded important."

Taking the object Will nodded. "Alright. Get Sammy situated on the plane then see to the rest of the wounded." The man nodded and moved to carry out his orders. Will watched him go, spotting Bumblebee kneeling protectively next to Sam's body though still allowing room for the medics to work.

Knowing he had to complete this job before he could let himself focus on Sam he walked over to Optimus who was speaking with Ratchet and Ironhide.

"Optimus! Sam gave one of my medics a strange device." He called up to the Autobot leader. "Said something about an Energon Harvester."

"Yes, Ratchet was just informing me."

"Energon Harvester? What the hell is that?" Epps asked coming up beside Lennox along with Fig and Graham.

"It is a device that is used to turn the natural resources of a planet into energon." Ratchet started to explain. "It was once used to harvest energy from lifeless planets that would never be able to support life. However the Decepticons use it wherever they can. Likely the device in her hands is the power source to turn the machine on. However this one appears to be nearly depleted. It would take the energy of the All Spark to reactivate it."

"Then why did they take Samantha hostage?" Ironhide groused. "She's a mere human."

"It is possible that they noticed the residual power the All Spark infused her with and hoped that it would leave her form and enter the device." Optimus speculated. "In any case we need to find the device and destroy it before any more Decepticons try to utilize its power."

"She said it's in the hanger." Lennox and the others followed Optimus, Ironhide and Ratchet to the hanger they had seen the Decepticons take Sam to earlier. Sure enough once inside they found the machine the Decepticons had obviously wanted to use.

"Hmm. It appears they have patched together human technology with an old version Energon Harvester to adapt it to this planet." Ratchet surmised as he scanned the device.

"I take it that's a bad thing?" Fig piped in.

"Oh yes. It would have stripped this region's natural resources in a matter of weeks, leaving it barren and uninhabitable."

"Good thing the battery's dead." Epps muttered, eyes taking in the huge machine.

"So what do we do with it?" Graham asked. "Should we dismantle it and take it back to base?"

"No." Optimus shook his head. "It will be best if we destroy it. However we will retrieve the key components to return to base and assure it cannot be repaired."

"We'll leave it to you guys then." Will nodded in understanding having the others pull back from the hanger and warning those outside to stand back.

Not even a minute later a loud series of explosions occurred, smoke billowing out of the hanger. They watched as the three bots calmly walked from the wreckage, each carrying a part of the machine.

"Alright. Let's round everyone up and head out." Lennox called to the soldiers. "Epps get on the line and tell base contacts have been engaged. One terminated another sent running. Advise hostage retrieved and we're coming home."

"On it."


	20. Chapter 20

The steady thrum of an airplane engine and the sounds of people talking in low tones and occasional movement were the first sounds that penetrated the haze of her mind. Next came the pain reminding her of the events of the past few days. With a sharp gasp she came fully awake, jerking up as she did so. The feel of straps keeping her restrained had her struggling fiercely. When hands gripped her arms and legs trying to stop her the panic set in.

"Whoa, whoa! Calm down Sammy-girl!" The familiar voice of Will had her pausing in her struggles. "Calm down, you're safe now, we got you." Falling back bonelessly she gasped for breath, tears stinging her eyes. "It's ok. You're safe…"

When her vision cleared she was able to make out Will's worried face, as well as a few others hovering around them. "Wh…where?...Wha…"

"You're on a plane. We're headed back to base." He assured her in soothing tones, one of his hands gripping her shaking one. "You're strapped down cause you were hurt and they wanted to make sure you didn't damage anything vital. Now you need to go back to sleep. We've got several hours before we make it home and you need your rest. Doc say's you've been pushed hard the past few days." He used his free hand to fix the blanket she had dislodged earlier with her movements.

"Stay?"

"I'm not going anywhere Sammy-girl." He promised, smoothing the hair back from her sweat slicked forehead.

"Bee?"

"He's here too. Now you just close you eyes and rest ok. We'll keep you safe." He was pleased when she did as he said, her grip relaxing in his though not completely. Making himself comfortable he settled in for the rest of the long ride back to Diego Garcia. Will had been truthful when he told Sam he wasn't going anywhere, and neither was she. After this little fiasco she would be on lock down at the base for as long as they could keep her there.


	21. Chapter 21

The next time Sam woke up she found herself on a rather comfortable bed in what was clearly a medical ward. Blinking away the sleep she took stock of her situation noting that her right lower leg was in a cast and elevated, she could feel several bandages wrapped all over her body, and an IV was hooked up to her left arm. Her entire body felt heavy and sluggish.

Movement to her right had her turning her head as best she could. Worried hazel eyes met her blurry brown pair.

"Hey there princess." Will greeted quietly, mindful of the other patients still sleeping. "If you wanted to come visit us there are better ways than getting kidnapped."

Sam chuckled only to have it turn into a slight hacking cough given the dryness of her throat. Will lifted her head gently, holding up a cup with a straw allowing her a drink of water.

"Thanks." She rasped softly. "I'll try to remember not to play the 'damsel-in-distress' card in the future."

"You do that. You're damn lucky we caught the radiation signature off that Decepticon that took you and investigated further." He scolded lightly, his hands holding her bandaged right hand. "Scared the hell out of me when we realized it was you he had."

"Sorry." The honest regret in that word had him shaking his head ruefully.

"Sammy what happened? How did those Decepticons get you?"

Sam closed her eyes at the memories knowing that she had to tell him. "Mikaela came to my house…god I don't even know how many days ago. I know it was Friday though. She said I had to get out of the house so she was dragging me to a lake party some of the other kids were throwing. We were there for a couple of hours and dusk was coming. I didn't want to stay any longer, but Mikaela did. One of the guys offered me a ride home since he was leaving too and I accepted. He seemed ok…" Will tightened his grip on her hand, his thumb rubbing her skin in a comforting manner. "About twenty minutes into the ride he pulled off a side road. He um…he tried to…" She gulped harshly eyes adverted. "Anyways, I told him to stop. He didn't, so I broke his nose and got out of the car. He drove off and just my luck his car wheel ran over my cell phone so I couldn't call anyone. With no other option I started walking." She paused again to catch her breath. "Anyway I guess I had been walking about an hour. I had planned to flag a car down and ask them to call for help, but no one passed by. Then finally a car appeared. I started flagging it down. When it got close enough I realized no one was driving and ran for it. Barricade decided to chase after me and shot a net out catching me before I got too far. Then he's calling in the cavalry, which happened to be Thundercracker. While I was lying there they scanned me and…symbols glowed across my skin. It looked like Cybertronian." She shrugged haphazardly. "The Barricade drugged me with some kind of shot. The next thing I know I'm waking up in Thundercracker's cockpit one hour outside Russia of all places. We landed, he hooked up that weird chain to the cuffs they put on me and dragged me towards that base for I guess three days? I know we were outside two nights. I got most of my bruises and cuts from the trek." She snorted. "When we got to the base he dragged me into the hanger where the other Decepticon was waiting and they led me to the Energon Harvester. They said it would strip the resources from the land. They forced some device into my hands, though I don't know why, nothing happened when I touched it. They started arguing so I made a break for it. Didn't get too far. Then a concrete slab pins me down and there's gunfire going off everywhere. You know the rest."

Will sat silently processing everything she said. Taking a steadying breath he asked the next question. "Sam, I know this is hard but where exactly did that boy…touch you."

Wide brown eyes darted to him before quickly moving away, a deep flush of shame creeping over her cheeks. "Does it matter? He didn't…you know…"

"Yes it matters."

From the tone of his voice she knew he would not drop it. "He um…grabbed my neck and right upper arm. He also…um grabbed my left leg at the knee and…the um…inner thigh." When she finished she was bright red and trying hard not to cry at the memory and the shame it brought.

"Hey…hey." Will moved closer taking her face in his hands and turning her to him. "You didn't do anything wrong Sammy. You just say the word and we'll make him disappear. We can do that."

That brought a laugh out. "Thanks, but he's not worth the trouble."

"Yeah…well we still need his name for the report." Will tried to look completely innocent about it.

"Then you probably should have asked for it before you threatened to get rid of him." They shared a small grin before Sam grew serious. "So what's wrong with me? Will I live doc?"

"Smart ass. Yeah you'll live." He sighed tiredly. "You've got a broken bone in your right leg. A lot of bruises and cuts obviously. In fact I think you'll win the 'most colorful injured' contest this time around. Doc said you had a fever due to a minor infection hence the antibiotics." He nodded to the IV drip. "You were also dehydrated and malnourished so you'll be on vitamins for a while. We called your parents to let them know you're here. They told us about finding your purse and cell phone. They wanted to come here to see you but given the base's Top Secret, they can't."

"So when are you guys shipping me out." She asked curiously.

"We're not. You're stuck here for sometime, especially since you were specifically targeted." He gave her a silencing look when she made to protest. "At least until we figure out if you're going to be a target again and Bumblebee's done with his two month assignment here, then we'll see about letting you go."

"Are you sure that's a good idea? I mean we're talking about a debilitated whiny teen here. I could drive you guys to drinking or something." She tried to joke but he could see the worry in her eyes.

"I think we can survive. After all we've had to deal with Epps and Fig for months now."

"Oh well in that case I should be a walk in the park."

Will grinned brightly glad that she seemed able to banter so well after all she had been through. That was one of the things he really admired about the girl, she always found a way to smile through the tough times.

When Sam started to yawn Will pulled the covers around her telling her to go back to sleep and he would see her later. She tried to protest but they fell flat as her eyes closed and she drifted off.

Will sat there for a few minutes contemplating everything she had said, and a bit about what she had not said. Regardless she had once more survived one hell of an encounter with the Decepticons and it looked like she might have more in the future. Even if command didn't agree he knew that she would need some kind of training and he knew several guys that would love to help him out with that.

Placing a gentle kiss on her slumbering head he finally left the medical ward plans forming in his mind.


	22. Chapter 22

Samantha spent the next several weeks at the base enjoying time with Bumblebee and the other Autobots and the soldiers. She mostly kept to the bots to keep out of everyone's way and Bumblebee had a hard time letting her out of his sights. So much so that she often just slept in the passenger side seat, one leg propped up on the door after he rolled the window down. Sometimes if it was a nice night they would ride out to one of the lesser-used sections of the base, right near the beach and she would fall asleep to the sounds of the waves crashing against the shores.

Sadly she also spent plenty of time stuck with Ratchet and several of the base medics as they poked, prodded and otherwise assaulted her in the name of science. However they did at least discover that while she did have traces of All Spark energy it took another active Cybertronian source to awaken it. She also did not have enough of it to actually do anything. As far as Ratchet and the others could tell the symbols were imbedded in her skin and it was likely in her deep, deep subconscious she had some of the cube's information stored but they could only speculate to that. Otherwise she was fine and clear to return home.

Only she wasn't allowed to leave until Bumblebee could escort her and of course a few other bots would be coming to check out the area. They feared Barricade might still be lingering somewhere.

While on base she got to learn more about the newest members of the team. The twins were a riot, often leaving her in stitches with their antics. Sideswipe was more of a speed demon than Bumblebee and often tried to goad her friend into a race. Apparently he was waiting for another bot, Sunstreaker, who was just as addicted to speed as himself. About halfway through her stay three female bots landed and met up with the others. Though technically separate they chose to be referred to by their lead bot's name, Acree. Sam rather liked them and their ways of keeping the others in line.

Sadly she could only do so much and with her mind as active as it is she grew bored embarrassingly easily. Bumblebee knew this, which is why he tried to keep her busy, but there was only so much one could do with a broken leg and limited mobility. So he took her to the base lab where she found several books for her enjoyment and Ironhide even let her take apart and re-assemble some of the equipment. That is until Lennox and the others found out. It was quite amusing to see their faces when they came across her rebuilding a P-90. It probably wouldn't have bothered them half as much if they didn't hear her and Ironhide discussing ways to make it more powerful and the fact that she was attempting said theories.

It could have ended up with her confined to quarters but one of the other officers suggested giving her books and small assignments to allow her something to do since she couldn't go into the main computer room. That's how she ended up learning about the various communication systems and devices the military used and a few computer programs. Ratchet saw this and decided to add to her 'schooling' and gave her a few lessons as well. He forced Bumblebee and the Twins to join them as they were the younger members of their group and needed more education. Regardless Sam enjoyed it all, learning more than she had even with her advanced classes.

Thankfully her leg healed on schedule and she was able to have the cast removed. Of course when that happened Will and the other guys deemed her ready for physical therapy. Only it was the military type. They had her running, doing calisthenics and learning the basics of self-defense. While she generally didn't mind and actually considered it a good thing, some days she seriously thought they were trying to finish her off. Bumblebee was no help and he sometimes chased her during her runs to 'encourage' her. Yeah, it had conspiracy written all over it.

Finally though it was deemed safe enough for her to return home. Though she had three Autobots and several soldiers escorting her. She had told Will that it'd be fine if she and Bee caught the next cargo plane back to the states but he just waved her off and stated they had to check for Barricade. Given his adamant stance she let it go, besides this way she could return his car.

Surprisingly most of the soldiers on base came out to see them off along with the Autobots that wouldn't be making the journey. They wished her well and reminded her to keep sending toys for them. It got to the point where Will had to drag her to the plane, Bee following in their wake. Luckily the flight home wasn't as bad as she had suspected, and she even got to learn some new card games.

Looking around at the various soldiers and the three giant robots she smiled softly to herself. It was nice to know so many people cared. Sure getting kidnapped by dangerous aliens sucked, but she wouldn't trade her life for the world. Throwing a bright smile at Bee she mentally nodded. No she wouldn't trade this for anything.


	23. Chapter 23

"Come on let's go! All hands on deck!" Sam's father yelled through out the house far too early for her liking. "Frankie, Mojo out! Come on kiddo! We're on a schedule."

Sam sighed as she grabbed another box following her father out to the family car. "Why are you in such a hurry to get rid of me? You rented my room out didn't you?" she arched a brow in accusation at her father.

"No, I have other plans for your room." He snipped back a sly grin on his face. "And it rhymes with home theater."

"Great dad… and where will I sleep during vacations?"

"The couch's perfectly good."

Sam snorted placing the box of clothing in the car. To think a year had passed already. She had survived an eventful summer, then a less eventful but equally grueling senior year of studies and plenty of social events that Mikalea dragged her too, often against her will. She still kept up with the guys in NEST and the other Autobots but they had been unusually busy the past few months and she didn't want to over step her bounds. She had to pull back a lot when some 'politicians' got worried about the possible 'breech' in secrecy. All bureaucratic bullshit in her opinion but what could she do? She supposed it was a miracle they hadn't separated her from Bumblebee, even with the abduction last summer.

Leaving her dad to sort out the placement of the boxes in the vehicle she ran back for the rest of her stuff only to pause upon finding her mother practically sobbing in the living room.

"Look what I found." She managed to get out between each sniffle and gasp, holding up a pair of tiny shoes. "It's your little baby booties…"

"Mom." Sam moved forward to comfort her. Apparently her mom had developed empty nest syndrome the moment they got her acceptance letter. She'd been going through the attic and various boxes pulling out things Sam dearly wished would disappear.

Judy pulled her baby into a tight hug. "Oh my little baby girl. You can't go."

"Mom." This time her voice held a hint of exasperation.

The older woman continued as if she hadn't heard her. "You have to come home for every holiday. Even the little ones." Her breath caught in her throat as she tried to control her tears. "Even Halloween."

"Mom I can't come home for Halloween."

"Then will come to you. We'll be in costume you'll never know we're there." Let it not be said that Witwicky women weren't stubborn.

Catching sight of her father she silently begged for his help. Ron rolled his eyes at his wife's antics. "Will you let the kid breath, for crying out loud? Come on, go pack! There's no way you're packed for a month long trip." He gestured her to go upstairs, clapping her hands when she didn't move fast enough. "Come on! Chop, chop! Let's go."

Judy moved slowly to the stairs dragging her feet almost petulantly. Ron gave her a look.

"March young lady." He punctuated this with a slap to her backside much to Sam's horror.

"Dad!"

Judy grinned playfully at her husband leaning towards him. "I love it when you call me 'young lady', you dirty old man."

"Mom!"

Ron sends her a look as he watches her go upstairs. "You ain't seen nothing yet…"

"Oh my god!"

"What?"

"I'm scarred for life! Do you not see what you're doing? It's not a rap video dad!"

Shrugging it off he gave a lame explanation. "It's like a coach thing."

Sam placed her hands on her ears. "Not listening!"

When her father moved closer his face taking on a more serious look she lowered her hands.

"Look." He started out slowly, his eyes slightly misty. "You know you're mother and I are really proud of you. You're the first Witwicky to ever go to college. Not to mention the scholarship you earned…" Sam tried hard not to grin, knowing how hard it was for her dad to get mushy.

"Now I'm crying again!" Judy's voice called from upstairs startling the two. "This sucks!"

"You're gonna be ok mom…" Sam called out reassuringly.

Ron continued. "It's just gonna be…ya know hard for her to accept that her little girl's all grown up." His throat caught a bit. "Going out to handle the world on her own."

"Don't worry dad." She hugged him tightly. "I'll always need you and mom. I mean you guys have all the money."

"Brat." He snorted when she pulled away the two sharing a moment of mischief before they found the dogs on the couch, Mojo having a bit too much fun with Frankie. "Mojo! Stop that!" He shooed both dogs off the couch and outside. "You're gonna see some of that in college too. Which reminds me you need to be extra careful."

"What do you mean?" Sam grabbed one of the last of her boxes following her dad out to the car.

"I'm just saying there's gonna be a lot of guys at college. And you being a girl you have to keep your guard up."

"Dad…you do know the soldiers at NEST taught me self-defense right?" She smirked at him playfully.

"I'm just saying it doesn't hurt to be vigilant. And some of them probably had ulterior motives for that." He warned.

Sam was going to ask about that cryptic statement when her phone rang. Pulling it out while balancing her box she checked the caller id. "Hey Mik. You gonna be able to stop by to see me off?"

"Yeah, I'm running a little behind, but I should be there." Her best friend Mikaela Banes responded over the phone. "Works been rather busy recently.

"That's good though right?" She handed off the last box before making her way to her room to see if there was anything else she wanted.

"Yeah I suppose. I just kind of wish I wasn't stuck here ya know?"

"You could always try for college, or hey you could move out where I'm going. They have cheap apartments in the area. You and I could take the campus by storm!" Sam suggested cheerfully.

"Well that's not gonna happen until I get my man-child father, fresh out of prison back on his feet." From her tone Sam could tell said parent was in hearing distance.

The response of 'I heard that' followed by questions relating to motor parts just solidified that to Sam.

"Hey look on the bright side. He's working." Sam grinned at the huff that earned her from her friend. Moving into her closet she pulled out the shirt she had worn in Mission City. A slight ping of metal hitting wood caught her attention.

"True." Mikaela sighed. "Trust you to find the bright side of any problem. Speaking of which have you spoken to Will lately?"

"No, he's been really distant the last few months, especially after I graduated. I don't know why." She murmured as she glanced down at the object that had caught her attention. Frowning she bent down to pick it up.

"Maybe he's been really busy." Mikaela tried to make her friend feel better. Seriously she wanted to smack the dumb soldier. Sam had enough going on in her life without him making it difficult.

"Yeah I kinda figured." Sam muttered distractedly, holding the shard up for her inspection. "Hey Mikaela…I think a shard of the cube was in my shirt…" Suddenly the light caught the tip and it felt like a sharp pain lodged into her eye and into her brain. Within seconds it was over but the shock from the tiny metal piece had Sam's hands lighting up slightly with left over All-spark symbols. Blinking out of her daze she focused back on Mikaela who was calling her name. "Sorry what?"

"Are you ok?"

"Yeah I think so. Can you still come over?"

"Yeah I'll be there in twenty." The phone clicked off and Sam continued to stare at the tiny sliver. Moving to her desk she grabbed a small metal holding tube she used for the occasional science project. Carefully sliding the tube inside it she tried to figure out what to do with it.

It didn't take too long for Mikaela to show up, pulling her bike on the side of the street just in front of the family's mini van. Sam met her at the curb trying hard to ignore her parents' bickering.

"What's that about?" Mikaela nodded in the direction of the elder Witwickys.

"God only knows and I sure as hell don't. I already had glimpses of their 'relationship' that have left me mentally scarred." Sam huffed rolling her eyes as her mother threw a bag at her father before storming into the house. "And they think a month vacation in Paris is the perfect thing to get over me leaving…"

"Well it is Paris."

"Who's side you on?" Sam nudged her friend playfully before pulling out the canister with the shard. "Hey can you keep this locked up? I don't want to take it with me and leaving it here is not an option. I'd give it to Bee, but he's been a bit pissy lately."

"Still upset about you leaving, huh?"

"Understatement." The two girls walked to the garage where they found the giant mech in his robot form sulking of all things. "Hey Bee, Mik's here."

The giant bot looked over his shoulder and gave a terse nod before turning back around.

"Come on Bee. We've talked about this." Sam sighed. "It's only for the first year. And I'll be back for Christmas and summer. Then next year you can come with me if you want. But I bet you'll have so much fun with the other Autobots you won't want to."

"Bye, bye love. Bye, bye happiness…"

"Bee." Sam rolled her eyes while Mikaela giggled earning herself a glare. "Don't encourage him." Turning back to her robot friend she placed her hands on her hips. "Bee, look at me." Once the blue optics were staring at her she continued. "You know very well that this was going to happen so stop acting like a sparkling! If I could change the rules I would, but colleges don't allow freshmen to have cars, period end of sentence. I checked like twenty times. If it'll make you feel better I'll text and email you so we can still talk. And we can even meet up on weekends."

"Do you so swear?"

"Every damn day." She threw a quote back at him, smirking at his look.

Bumblebee shook his head at his human charge in fond amusement. She had certainly loosened up a bit more since knowing him, though he didn't know if that was good. Vaguely he wondered what she would be like if she was around the twins more.

"Sam! We gotta go! Move it!" her dad's bellow startled them all.

"Coming!" she called back before giving Bee a hug then running out behind Mikaela. "You be good Bee! I'll talk to ya soon!"

Mikaela watched as her friend climbed in the car with her parents waving goodbye as they pulled out. It hurt to see her go, as she didn't have many other female friends. But if anyone deserved college it was Sam. Climbing on her bike she got ready to head back home, never once noticing the small robotic toy truck in the distance.


	24. Chapter 24

Diego Garcia

Will rolled his shoulders as the plane's descent ramp finally locked in place allowing himself and his men to disembark. Various Autobots exited the large planes in their alt forms so as not to startle anyone. The operation in Shanghai had not gone as well as it could have. He had a good feeling that he'd hear a lot about it from various political liaisons. Though they had gotten their targets a good portion of the city was destroyed and several men had been lost.

Like all leaders that was the hardest part of the job for him. With quick orders he had his men in clean up or the med bay as needed before turning out to salute the prepared coffins of his fallen comrades as they were loaded onto the planes to take them home.

It was during this process that he heard the incoming chopper that landed just outside the base. As the Major and leader of NEST he had the unfortunate duty of greeting whoever had shown up.

Moving quickly he met the incoming men at the gate, taking note of their suits and their general bureaucratic stances. He easily recognized their National security Adviser. So much for relaxing after the op.

"Director Galloway." He greeted as politely as he could. "What an honor. I'd love to show you around, but you gotta be on the classified access list."

"I am now." The weasely little man snapped, pushing a piece of paper into Will's chest. "Presidential order Major. I got a message for your classified space buddies." The man didn't even bother to wait for the soldier as he stormed towards the main hanger. "You guys made a mess of Shanghai!"

Once he managed to catch up to the man Will took control and showed him the main communications office in the Autobot's hanger. He gave the men a brief overview of what they did there when another solider advised him that the link to General Morshire was up.

Excusing himself he made his way to up the tall scaffolding to the main view screen and camera links. He saluted the man staring back at him. "General."

"Will." The man nodded in return. "I saw the Shanghai op. We had a rough day."

"Yes sir." Will couldn't certainly deny that, but he had information the general needed. "We have intel that I believe warrants an immediate debrief. Now with your permission, I can't let you see him, but I would like you to hear from the leader of the Autobots."

The general nodded. "Proceed."

Down below him he watched as Optimus changed from his alt form to his bipedal robotic form. Even after several years working together it never ceased to amaze him. After several clicks, shifts and whirls the giant leader stood head and shoulder over Will, even though he was a good thirty feet in the air.

Epps watched from below coming up behind Galloway. He knew he didn't have to be there but he wouldn't leave his friend and commander alone with the bureaucrats. That was just cruel. Fig and Graham felt the same way from their own supportive presence.

Optimus turned towards the screen to address the human military leader though he made sure to keep just out of sight of the cameras. "General, our alliance has countermanded six Decepticon incursions this year, each on a different continent. They are clearly searching the world for something. What that is we do not know. However last night's encounter came with a warning."

He started the replay of his recorder allowing the Decpticon's voice to echo in the large room.

"_The Fallen shall rise again_."

"The Fallen?" General Morshire's question followed closely. "Meaning what?"

"Origin unknown." Optimus admitted. "The only recorded history of our race was contained within the Allspark and lost with its destruction."

"Excuse me." Galloway's voice echoes through the area catching their attention. Once he had the Autobot leader's attention he started climbing up the stairs all the while speaking. "With this so-called Allspark destroyed, why hasn't the enemy left the planet like you thought they would?"

Will turned back to the camera to explain to the general with a resigned air. "Director Galloway, our National Security Director. The president just made him liaison." He couldn't stop the eye roll at that, though he knew the general would likely agree.

He didn't hear the general's response to that as Galloway had finally made it to his position. Turning to the large robot he starts his 'speech'. "After all the damage in Shanghai the president is hard pressed to say the job's getting done. Now under the classified alien/autobot cooperation act, you agreed to share your intel with us but not your advancements in weaponry."

Optimus eyed the small human. "We witnessed your human capacity for war. It would absolutely bring more harm than good."

Like a true politician the man shot back a typical argument. "But who are you to judge what's bets for us?"

Will felt his ire rise. "With all due respect we've been fighting side by side with them for two years."

"We've shed sweat blood and precious metals together." Epps added from his position beside Optimus, looking extremely tiny next to him.

"Solider, you're paid to shoot, not talk." The ever-arrogant man snipped.

"Don't tempt me." The soldier growled under his breath only to receive a quick warning to calm down from Optimus.

Galloway continued on. "And the newest members of your team, I understand they arrived here after you sent a message into space. An open invitation to come to Earth vetted by no one at the White House."

"Let me stop you their Mr. Galloway." General Morshire called out over the telecom link. "It was vetted right here and in my experience the judgment of both Major Lennox and his team has always been above reproach."

"Well be that as it may, it is the opinion of our president that hen our national security is at stake, no one is above reproach." He explained arrogantly. "Now what do we know…" he went on to describe the location of Megatron and the small sliver of the cube they had under lock down. "It appears obvious that the enemy is here for you." He pointed in accusation at the robot. "Now if we ask you, will you leave peacefully?"

"Freedom is your right." Optimus responded cordially. "If you make that request we will honor it, but before your president decides please ask him this. What if we leave and you are wrong?"

Galloway looked clearly like he swallowed something sour before turning and leaving the area. Will watched him for a moment before turning to Optimus.

"That's a good question." He nodded seriously.


	25. Chapter 25

After days in the car stuck with her parents Sam finally made it to college. How she managed to get into The University of Pennsylvania still amazed her, especially since she got a nice scholarship to help fund her education.

"Wow… Look at this!" Judy spun around as she took everything in. "I feel smarter already! Oh Ron. Can you smell it?"

"Yeah, smells like $40,000 a year." He retorted.

"Hey! El cheapo!" Judy snapped back in irritation.

Sam just smirked moving to grab a box or two. Her parents shooed her on to her dorm and her room. Checking the slip of paper with her information once more she tried to locate her room. So far she wasn't having the best of luck.

After getting turned around in an attempt to dodge other students she ran right into another person.

"Oh! Sorry, sorry."

"No prob. My bad."

She found herself looking at a young man maybe an inch or two taller than her, with extremely curly black hair and olive skin. He looked quite flabbergasted as he took her in.

"Um… Sam." She held her hand out after shifting her box.

"Can I have you? Uh I mean can I help you…" He shook himself out of his stupor much to her amusement.

"Maybe you can…um?"

"Leo. Right, I'm Leo."

"Leo. As I said I'm Sam. I'm looking for B35 but I seem to be lost…"

"B35? What a coincidence I'm in B34 right across the hall. We're neighbors!" he grinned brightly as he led her down the hallway to her room. "So Sam… You like kittens?"

It didn't take long to settle in, once she managed to get rid of Leo and see her parents off. That had been a wonderful experience given her mother decided to try brownies baked with reefer. She almost felt sorry for her dad.

Her roommate seemed distant and had pretty much told Sam to keep to her side of the room. A wonderful start to an entire year of schooling, unless they could switch after the first semester. She may have to look into that.

Once she had her side of the room set up she made her way to the college bookstore to grab some odds and ends. Most of the professors had sent their book lists before hand so she needed to pick them up. Some she would have to wait until she went to the first class and got the syllabus. Thankfully they had a few days for freshmen to acquaint themselves to the campus. She spent Saturday morning going through the books she did have and walking around the campus finding the buildings for her classes.

She managed to grab a quick lunch from one of the campus meal sites and took the rest of the afternoon to continue going through her books and email Mikaela to let her know she had made it fine. She also dropped a line to Bee so he wouldn't get worried.

Thankfully her roommate apparently had friends elsewhere so she chose to spend her time with them off campus. It left her free to study in peace. She had left the door open to allow people to say hi and so that they knew that unlike her roommate she wouldn't be unsocial. That's how she ended up with Leo popping in sometime after dinner.

"Hey, me and the guys got word of a frat party tonight and I wanted to know if you wanted to tag along?" He asked, fidgeting slightly.

Sam frowned in thought. "I don't know. Won't I cramp your style?"

"Are you kidding?" Leo looked at her like she was nuts. "Coming in with a hot girl will only boost it!"

Sam blinked at the complement. A small voice in the back of her head sounding suspiciously like her mom and Mikaela told her to go and have fun. "Alright, but only as friends." She warned the boy. "This is not a date."

"That's cool. I totally understand! Wouldn't dream of it. Well I would but I'm cool with friends, unless you change your mind…"

Sam chuckled as she grabbed her purse and followed the boy out into the hall where she met his friends Fassbinder and Sharsky. From the way they spoke they were obviously techies, but she didn't have a problem with that. However IF Fassbinder kept staring at her like that she just might have to hurt him.

The walk to the Frat house was fairly quick and from the looks of it several people had heard of the party. The music pounded through the air like a pulse of power. Sam looked unsure at first but decided to go with it as the boys all looked around with vast wonder and excitement, their eyes trailing the various females that walked by.

Snickering she shooed them off to have fun as she made her way inside for a drink. She was just passing one small area where a cake was set out when the visions started. Blinking rapidly she tried to figure out why such strange symbols were floating before her eyes, superimposing the world around her. As one finger came up to trace the symbols she was broken out of her strange trance by a tall male.

"Hey, you ok?"

Shaking her head to clear her thoughts she looked up at the guy with piercing blue eyes and sandy blond hair. "Um…yeah I'm fine. Just uh… little distracted is all…"

"I understand, there's a lot of things going on around here." He inched closer into her space almost too close.

Sam backed off putting some room between them. "Yeah… a lot going on…"

"Wanna dance? I like dancing." He leaned forward again invading her space.

"Uh…"

"HEY!" The loud yell of one of the frat boys demanded everyone's attention over the music. "Who drove the freakin' yellow Camero? Huh? There's a car on my lawn!"

Sam froze for one second before running out of the room and toward the main door. Pulling up short at a window she found Bumblebee out front in the bushes his alarm going full blast. Panicked she rushes out of the house and over to the driver side window.

"What are you doing here?" she hissed at the vehicle as she leaned in the window.

"Houston we have a problem."

She started to ask what that meant when the same Frat guy called out to her.

"Freshman! Is that you're car?"

Startled Sam looked up. "Uh… yeah a friend had it and was supposed to be taking it elsewhere. I'll move it now. Sorry."

The two guys apparently decided that harassing a girl wasn't a good idea. "Yeah well try not to do it again."

"No problem." Sam assures them as she gets into the vehicle.

"Oh man! You have a car?" Leo came out of the party too curious about the situation to let it pass. "That's so hot!"

"I don't have time for this." She muttered and started the engine pulling the car back and moving out.

"Alright Bee." She stated once out of sight of the campus. "What is going on?"

"The boss wants ta have a word with ya." Came over the radio.

"Optimus? Here in Pennsylvania? Why?"

"Debrief in one hour."

"So basically I have to wait to speak to Optimus." She acknowledged dryly. Settling into the seat she let Bee take her to where she would meet the leader of the Autobots. Hopefully she could get back before classes started.

Early in the morning just after dawn Bee pulled into one of the older cemeteries. Sam tried hard not to comment on the location. When Bee finally pulled over and let her out she found Optimus standing near one of the larger monuments in the area, allowing it to hide him.

Moving closer Sam greeted him. "Hey Optimus. What garners this need to see me before I have a chance to even start classes."

"I'm sorry Sam." He seemed genuinely remorse. "But the last fragment of the Allspark was stolen."

"What? Like Decepticons stole it?" She frowned in worry.

Optimus nodded before continuing his explanation. "We placed it under human protection at your government's request. But I am here for your help Sam. Because your leaders believe that we have brought vengeance on your planet. Perhaps they are right." His features did their own parody of a sigh while Sam listened. "That is why they must be reminded by another human of the trust we share."

"Ok… I can see what you mean, but I'm not sure how I can help. Optimus to humans I am a mere child. The leaders of this world would likely not bother listening to me." She tried to explain to the larger creature.

"Something must be done. I fear there will soon be war. Your world must not share the same fate as Cybertron." His words had a sense of finality to them. "Whole generations lost."

"Look Optimus I want to help you. But again, I'm just a kid. The likelihood of them listening to me it quite small. I can try but I can't guarantee it'll do any good."

"All we can ask is that you try."

"Ok, but can it wait till like Saturday? I have to go through the first week of classes, my scholarship sort of requires it." She looked up at him pleadingly. "Besides you guys will need time to get the bigwigs together anyway. Would that be alright?"

Optimus calculated his options. He did not see too much harm in waiting as she asked and it would be good to prepare the leaders of the world to speak to the girl. "Very well. I will have Bumblebee contact you when we have a time set."

"Cool. Thanks Optimus. I'll make sure to work on a speech for them. Lord knows the politicians love a good speech." Smiling happily at the compromise she said her goodbyes and made her way back to Bumblebee to head back to school.

Optimus watched as the two drove off hoping that this would work.


	26. Chapter 26

Sam sat in the huge lecture hall watching as it filled up with hundreds of students. Though large classes never appealed to her she supposed this just proved she had gotten to college. Leo had kindly saved her a seat, though she sensed he had alternate reasons for doing such then simply as a friendly gesture. Especially given the way he seemed to puff out his chest when others looked their way.

Keeping her snickers to herself she watched as the professor came in, taking in his arrogant swagger and fairly cool-studious look he portrayed to the world. She had a feeling that she might not care for him, but as long as he didn't give them crap information she'd survive. Within moments the class settled down.

"Space. Time." He took a bite out of an apple before dropping it. "Gravity."

"We are going on a journey together, you and I."

His voice started to phase out as the same symbols she saw at the Frat house started to flash before her. Blinking she tried to focus on reality but she couldn't seem to. Without her conscious decision she started flipping through her astrology book, the words and information easily flowing into her mind despite the speed at which she flipped through it. To her side Leo gave her strange looks and tried to get her attention as softly as he could but nothing could stop her.

Once done she felt an urge to speak up, but something in her knew she could not. No one would understand. The symbols wouldn't stop even though she could at least control her urges. Shaking she stood up, grabbing her bag.

"What are you doing?" Leo hissed at her, confused.

"Young lady, I have not reached the climax of my lecture." The teacher advised as he saw her moving down the room.

"I… I can't breath. Gotta… gotta go…" She just managed to state as she all but ran for the door. The whole class watched her leave in surprise. Once the door slammed behind her the professor turned back to the rest of the class.

"Anyone else care to have some sort of a breakdown?"

As Sam raced back to her room, trying hard to navigate while avoiding people and strange floating symbols. Pulling her cell phone out she dialed Mikaela.

"Hey Sammy-girl? How's college life. Met any hot guys yet?"

"Mik. Something just happened to me." Sam blurted, voice taking on a slightly panicked tone.

"What you lost your virginity?"

"No, no, no. Stop laughing! This is serious!"

"Okay? What is it?"

"Remember when I told you about my great-great-grandfather Archibald Witwicky? Remember?" Rushing down a set of stairs she stumbled, dropping various papers and books. Scrambling to pick them up she continued. "Okay, remember? When he went on the Arctic mission, and… and he saw Megatron. Then Megatron zapped him, and he started seeing these crazy symbols. Right? Well, now I'm seeing them too." She couldn't control the speed of her words as she managed to grab all of her things and continue on her way.

"Sam? Calm down. Just take a breath…"

"Calm down? I just read a 903-page astronomy book in 32.6 seconds." She squeaked over the speaker. "I nearly had a meltdown in the middle of my class! I'm seeing symbols everywhere, ever since I…" Freezing in place Sam realized the reason for her new issue.

"Since what?" Mikaela urged, hoping her friend would calm down.

"Ever since I touched the Cube splinter." Remembering just whom she gave the splinter to she continued. "Do you have it?"

"Yeah I have it?" Mikaela assured the other girl. "It's in the shop safe. It's fine."

"Mikaela, do not touch it. Just don't touch it."

"I'm not going to touch it." A heavy sigh came down the line. "Sam, it's fine. It's locked away and no one knows where it is."

Sam closed her eyes in relief. "Ok, right. It's fine. I'm over reacting…"

"Hold on…"

"Mik?" Sam paused listening to the sounds coming over the other end. She heard a yell and a scream and some bangs. "Mikaela! What's going on? Mikaela!"

"Sam."

"What the hell was that?" She practically screamed, her once slightly calmed nerves just broke again.

"I'll tell you later, just not on an open phone line ok?" Sam blinked down at her cell. That did not sound good. "I'm gonna get on a plane right now and I'll be there later this afternoon. Just be careful, Sam."

"Okay. You too." Closing the cell she realized she was in front of her dorm room door. Barging in she thanked whoever listened that her roommate was gone again. Grabbing some markers she started drawing various symbols that continued to flash before her eyes hoping to get it out of her head.


	27. Chapter 27

On Diego Garcia

Lennox looked over the shoulder of a few of the communication officers reading the various reports coming over the computers. Optimus had disappeared four days before and none of the Autobots were talking. Then two days ago the rest of them up and disappeared. Not a good sign in his book.

Not like they could control when and where the bots went, but a heads-up would have been nice.

"Major!" Turning from his station he looked to the tech that called out. "Incoming SOS from the Autobots!"

Frowning he moved to the main screen followed by Epps, Figg and Graham.

Once there the tech continued, pointing to the radar screen. "Multiple Decepticon contacts in motion. Vicinity, eastern United States, sir."

Will shared an uneasy look with the others. "As in how many?"

"Unclear sir."

"Well get clear." He growled the feeling of incoming trouble intensifying.

"The Autobots are on the move." Graham advised. "Splitting into two teams, sir."

Epps snapped the cell shut. "They're not answering our calls."

"They're heading to New York and Philadelphia." Another member informed him.

"Hey man… isn't Sammy's school in Philadelphia?" Figg inquired. The men all stopped and shared a telling look. Will knew he had to make a decision.

"All right, full weapons deployment!" He yelled out across the bay, the soldiers acting immediately. "Wheels up in twenty minutes!"

Turning to grab his own gear he followed his men out of the hanger. "Move it! Let's go!"


	28. Chapter 28

Leo walked the halls of his dorm, pizza in hand. He hoped to check on Sam and see if she was ok. After what happened in astrology he doubted she had gone out to any other class. He'd heard about some freshman not able to handle classes, but usually it took at least a week or two, not one day.

He really hoped that was not the case. Sam had proven to be a pretty cool chick in his humble opinion and he wanted to try out this friendship thing with her.

"Hey freshman!"

He turned seeing a rather built dude coming his way. Great.

"Yeah?"

"You're a friend of Samantha's right? Where's her dorm room?"

"Look I don't think you're her type. In fact I'm sure of it so…" The guy's hand locked on his shoulder with a grip that felt more than crushing. "Or I could just show you to her room…"

"Thanks man." The guy smiled though it didn't look the least bit friendly.

When they came to the door Leo knocked but refused to leave, not trusting this guy in the least. "Sam you in?" He tried the door, knowing that if it was unlocked it meant Sam was in and her roommate wasn't. It opened easily, but the sight that met them did not compute at first.

Sam stood on her bed drawing weird symbols all over the wall, or what little space she had left to work with. All over the rest of the room, whether on posters or the bare wall, various symbols in various media.

"Oh my god…"

"Hey!" Sam smiled as she turned to greet them, having only just noticed them. "Have you ever had a song stuck in your head? You can't help but whistle or sing it 'cause it repeats itself over and over and over like a broken record?"

"What the hell…" Leo gapped afraid that Sam had completely cracked. So much for a normal cool girl.

"Don't freak out. No need to freak out. Easy to fix." She waved at them. "Puzzle in my head now on the walls." She pointed. "Everything's good." Suddenly she seemed to come back to herself. "Sorry you were saying?"

The guy that had dragged Leo with him suddenly grabbed the boy and pushed him out of the room, slamming the door closed and ignoring his protest.

"I knew there was something special about you." He let a sly smile stretch over his face.

"Sorry?"

"And I know you know what happens when two people get together." He stalked towards her cornering her against the wall by the bed. "They're genuinely amazing in bed."

Sam's eyes grew wide. "What? Hold on! Boundaries!" She tried to protest as the boy pulled her close and moved her to the horizontal surface.

"Come on Sam, we both have needs. You know it, I know it." He cooed in her ear, kissing along her neck and cheek.

"Ok! Time out! Not happening!" Sam nearly yelled as she tried pushing the guy off of her. The guy only slammed her harder against the wall, his eyes turning a bright blue in color, his features shifting into robotic components.

"Oh god!"

Just then the door opened to Mikaela her greeting dying on her lips.

"Mik!"

Taking in the scene she reacted fast, rushing the strange robot and slamming it upside the head with the box she was carrying. The robot fell to the side allowing Sam to flee towards her friend. The door opened again to show Leo looking concerned, until he saw the robot like creature that kneeled on the bed.

Mikaela threw the box at it to distract it long enough for them to run away.

"What is that?" Leo cried as the girls rushed into the hall, pulling him along.

"Alien robot! Run!" Sam yelled back, leading the two away from the dorm.

"For real?"

"Just run!"

They managed to make it to the library, moving to a more secure area before ducking down to catch their breath.

"Oh my god! Oh my god!" Leo muttered, eyes wide in panic. "I can't believe I just saw that…"

"Once again Sam you attract trouble to you." Mikaela huffed.

"This is not my fault! Do you think I put a sign out saying 'Hi? Alien robots please assault me?' Really?" Sam frowned at her friend.

"Well your score card's not looking too good for you." Her friend snapped back.

"Dude did he probe you?" Leo turned to Sam, eyes worried. "Did he get anything in your mouth? Like an alien embryo for little alien babies?"

Sam looked utterly disgusted, her face growing pale at the thought. "What? Ew, no. Just stop!"

"Who are you?" Mikaela turned to the boy.

"I'm Leonardo Ponce De Leon Spitz. Okay? I'm the key to this." He said with such certainty that both girls just stared at him in disbelief. "The aliens, they want me, 'cause of my site."

Silence settled between them for all of two seconds before the doors to the library exploded inward, the robot stalking towards them with deadly purpose.

"Shit! Run!" Sam managed to sprint down the stairs Mikaela and Leo behind her. They dodge the mini-missiles that made quick work of the library. Clearing the doorway they headed to the parking lot back near the dorm.

Suddenly Mikaela veered to the side where a lone box sat, it moved as if something was trying to get out.

"Mikaela come on!"

"Hold this!" She pushed the box into Sam's hands. The girl almost dropped it when it shook a tiny voice demanding to be let out coming from within.

"Get in the car!" Mikaela opened the door of the first vehicle they came to, Sam and Leo following suit. Using the skills her old man taught her she pulled the wires down and started to click them together hoping for a spark.

"You know how to hot wire a car?" Leo stared down at Mikaela. "God that is so hot!"

The vehicle's engine flared to life prompting her to get in the driver seat and prepare to move. Sam looked up staring in fear as the robot came towards them once more.

"Drive, drive, drive!" Sam pushed back into the seat. "It's coming! It's right there!"

Slamming the gear into reverse she pulled out of the space at a high speed, then moved to go forward. But the robot jumped onto the vehicle, smashing the front glass with his hand trying to reach for Sam.

"Take this asshole!" Mikaela growled, gas to the metal crashing the front of the vehicle into a metal pole, crushing the robot between it and the vehicle.

Pulling away they dropped the wreckage of the bot and continued with their escape.

"Okay, so what else don't I know?" Leo demanded from the back seat. "Since you guys forgot to mention some minor details!" His voice had taken on a hysterical edge that both girls could easily understand, but at the moment didn't have time to worry about.

"That thing you saw back there." Sam waved absently in the direction they had come. "That was the little baby…"

Her sentence got cut off when a large metal hook burst through the roof of the vehicle. With a sickening jolt the vehicle lifted into the air, spinning around violently. The teens screamed at the sensation.

The passenger door fell open causing Sam to descend from the vehicle. Frantically she scrambled to hold onto the sides of the car and the door, her legs flailing in the wind.

"SAM! HOLD ON!" Mikaela reached for her, hoping to help her friend.

"PULL ME UP!" Sam begged, her arms burning with the exertion.

In the back Leo was screaming like a girl, stating over and over that they were going to die. Somehow Mikaela managed to get Sam into the vehicle just before the bot that had them reached the building it wanted. Without warning it released the hook sending the vehicle careening through the roof of a large old building. Thankfully the airbags deployed managing to take some of the brunt of the impact. Then just as they realized the vehicle was upside down a large blade shot down the middle of the vehicle, slicing it cleanly in half.

Scrambling out of the vehicle Sam flinched as Starscream landed in front of them, growling menacingly at them, her in particular.

Following the bot with her eyes she found one of the most terrifying sights she could even imagine. Megatron glared at her from the lower level, his face easily meeting hers given his height.

"Come here girl." His oily voice sent shivers of fear racing through her. "Closer."

Sam edges closer, hoping that if she complied that he would spare Mikaela and Leo, because she knew he wouldn't spare her. Behind her she could hear Leo swearing harshly.

"You remember me, don't you?" The Decepticon leader asked rhetorically.

Sam had her hands up to show she had no weapons. "I did what you said, okay? Just leave them out of it."

"Shut up!" The large bot snarled, hand slamming down on the concrete under her feet sending her flying through the air with a scream of fear.

She landed hard on a slab of concrete, pain wracking through her entire frame. She tried to move but Megatron's arms somehow grabbed her arms and legs leaving her exposed to him.

"Yes. It feels good to grab your flesh." Megatron leaned down towards the scared female, red eyes burning into her. "I am going to kill you slowly, painfully." He drew the words out to make it worse. "But first, we have some delicate work to do."

Sam squirmed trying to figure out what he meant when a smaller bot that looked like a crazed scientist crawled up onto her chest.

"Doctor, examine this alien specimen."

That so did not sound good. Sam renewed her struggles with no luck.

"I'll scan you. Let's take a look at your face." Even the things voice sounded like the typical mad villain from a horror movie. It seemed to consider her before pulling out a strange slug like creature. "Yeah! Easy way or tough way?" Sam tried to keep her mouth closed but the creature thing started probing at her nose before crawling in.

Sam gagged and choked as the thing started to dig into her very brain. It seemed like forever before it finally exited through her mouth. Sam gasped for breath, her gag reflex working overtime at the thought of the creature in her head.

The doctor bot pulled the strange slug thing back into his form then projected two lights. One showed memories of her life; the other flashed the weird symbols that had invaded her brain.

"There they are." Megatron sounded far too pleased. "Those symbols can lead us to the Energon source."

The little bot jumped up and down. "We must have the brain on the table! Chop, chop!"

"Brain?" Sam squeaked. This definitely did not sound good to her. "What does he mean my brain?"

"Well, you have something on your mind." The evil leader mused in dark amusement. "Something I need."

The bot started manipulating the skin on her face and her lips. "Wait! I know you hate me and all, but this is not a good idea. I mean, I need my brain." She argued all the while trying to avoid the pokes and prods of the tiny doctor. "so let's discuss this like civilized beings and…"

The doctor pulled out a spinning saw blade preparing to cut into her skull.

"Wait, wait, wait!"

Just as her life flashed before her eyes a huge form crashed through the ceiling sending debris down upon the Decepticons. Out of the corner of her eye she could see the blue and red of Optimus' form as she scrambled out of Megatron's loosened grip.

Soon plasma blasts flew in every direction as the opposing factions battled it out. Sam could hear Leo yelling for him and Mikaela to run, just as Bumblebee burst through the side wall, firing at Starscream to allow the two teens to escape. Sam threw the doctor away from her and sprinted to the door just out of the way, hoping that she could avoid dying here.

Sliding a bit in the gravel outside of the warehouse she found Optimus in his vehicle form pulling up, door open for her to jump in. Without hesitating she climbed into the truck, pulling the door shut behind her.

They took off tearing down the road away from the city.

"Where's Mikaela and Leo?"

"Bumblebee has them." Optimus informed her.

A loud rumbled of a jet caught her attention. Turning she found Megatron hot on their trail. "He's coming!"

Optimus pulled out into a grouping of trees, turning in a way to let her out without injuring her while transforming at the same time.

"Hide, Sam!"

Not needing to be told twice, Sam ran towards some trees, trying to stay low and keep out of the way. Almost immediately Megatron and Starscream as well as a few she'd never seen before besieged Optimus. They fought hard, insults being traded back and forth.

Prime managed to destroy one of the Decepticons that had joined in the fray with a blazing sword. Only for Megatron to get the drop on him and toss him down into the dirt.

"There is another source of Energon on this planet." The evil bot informed his once brother. "The girl can lead us to it!" He emphasized his point with a hard kick.

Sam cried out in warning as the evil bot brought a large tree down on her friend.

"Is the future of our race not worth a single human life?"

Optimus stood slowly before spinning around and grabbing the other bot, throwing him back with a hard hit. "You'll never stop at one!" Brandishing his swords again he screamed at the other Decepticons that surrounded him. "I'll take you all on!"

Sam ducked as more blasts littered the area, dirt and foliage falling all around her.

"Sam where are you?" At Optimus' call she turned to find him only to see Megatron come up behind him, his own blade slamming home between his shoulder blades and out of his chest.

"NO!" Her screamed seemed to echo.

"So weak." Megatron sneered as he threw the dying body of Prime to the ground.

Sam watched in frozen horror as the great leader fell, his blue optics finding her own frightened brown eyes. "Sam…run…"

Unable to do anything but comply she darted off towards the roadway, praying for help as the Decepticons followed. Legs burning from prolonged running she felt immense relief as she caught sight of the road and the even more welcome sight of the other Autobots.

Ratchet and Ironhide transformed immediately as did a few others. The old weapons specialist giving the order to open fire.

Bumblebee pulled up, door open wide for Sam as she dove in. Mikaela and Leo pulling her in. The bot revved his engines, tires screaming as he fled the battlefield with his precious cargo.

As the battle faded away to a distant sound Sam let the tears fall, the adrenaline and shock finally setting in.


	29. Chapter 29

Sam didn't really know where Bumblebee had brought them but she didn't care either. The whole scene of Optimus fighting Megatron then seeing the blue of his eyes slowly dims until nothing showed through. Nausea rolled through her stomach.

Everything was wrong. This wasn't how it was supposed to be. Yet it had happened and in a way it had been her fault. Granted she knew intellectually that she couldn't have done anything against the Decepticons on her own, but maybe if she had just gone with Optimus then instead of asking him to wait? Maybe he'd be alive?

Why was this happening now? They had two years to revive Megatron so why now? Had the felt the piece of the Allspark she had touched? Or did they simply think she had information from the cube in her from her first experience with it? Hadn't Ratchet said she had the residual energy but another source of cybrtronian energy had to activate it?

Isn't that what that piece of the spark had done? She certainly hadn't been able to read any book within three seconds before touching it. But had that tiny sliver of metal had that much energy to cause such a change in her? Apparently it did. Otherwise she wouldn't have symbols she barely recognize floating through her head. Even going back to Ratchet's lessons she couldn't recognize any of them.

The now familiar sounds of Leo muttering interrupted her thoughts. In the past hour Leo had been listening to news reports talking about the alien attacks and one even gave a speech. Something told her it had to do with her untimely escape. From the way she could hear Leo panicking she surmised she was right.

"You need to listen to this girl," he called out frantically. "You gotta check this out!"

Like she hadn't heard him the first twelve times. Pushing up to her feet she made her way back to Bumblebee and Mikaela trying hard to ignore Leo as he continued to panic watching the news feed on his smart phone.

"They have a picture of me! We're dead girl," he cried out, voice high with fear. "The FBI, CIA we are wanted fugitives now!"

Sam closed her eyes and concentrated on moving forward. She would not snap at Leo, it wasn't his fault. She could control herself.

"Are you listening to me? This thing has blown up to a whole new level!" He waved his phone towards her as he dogged her steps.

So much for staying calm. Spinning on her heal she snatched his phone. "Give me this thing! You see this," she asked waving the device back in his face. "They can track us with this." Using her anger she threw the phone to the ground, stomping on it for extra measure.

"They can track us? Like, satellite tracks us?"

Sam rolled her eyes wondering how this guy could possibly not know that given his constant rants on conspiracies. Passing through one of the old fences she noted Mudflap and Skids hanging out in a semblance of guarding the area while Bee and Mikaela had taken up residence a few yards away.

"Okay, I'm not even with you guys," Leo declared waving his arms frantically. "Technically, I'm like a hostage. This is kidnapping…"

"Yo Leo!" One of the twins called out just as the kid passed, managing to frighten him.

"This thing's gonna give me a heart attack, I swear," he muttered angrily.

"That's cause you is a wuss," Skids informed him.

"You guys forced me into that car, right," he continued on.

"I think he's scared," Mudflap stated wisely.

"Hey Mudflap, what are we gonna do with this shrimp taco?'

"Let's pop a cap in his ass, throw him in the trunk and then nobody gonna know nothing, know what I mean," he answered with a fairly accurate gangster dialect.

Leo turned to them in frustration. "Okay? I am right here and I can hear you," he growled at them. "No one's popping any caps in any asses, okay." He glared at both bots. "I've had a hell of a day!"

"Why don't you get a haircut," one shot back.

"Go whine to your boyfriend," the other added.

Deciding he'd get nowhere with the two he ran over towards Sam. "Listen, Sam. I know what I'm gonna do. I'm just going to go to the authorities and tell them the truth," he stated in what he thought was a reasonable tone. "Like, I had nothing to do with this, so I'm not an accomplice."

Turning to him Sam managed to keep from glaring too harshly. "No you're not, but you're in the middle of this anyway. I thought you wanted this? To handle the real deal. Clearly you prefer the illusion you spouted on your little website," she snapped. "You want to run? Go ahead! No one's stopping you! So stop complaining!"

Sam left him there with the twins as she went to bee and Mikaela. Leo was right about one thing; they had had a hell of a day.

Sorry it's taken so long. Having a bit of writer's block.


End file.
